She seemed to be in a practice that was not a money making one by the way she described the work. But it didn't mean that money was of no consequence.
Her malpractice insurance premiums were "$48,000 a year," and she said she had already been sued once in her two years in this job.
"It was dropped; but it took almost two years to resolve."
As for whether there should be caps on malpractice awards, the Doctor wasn't really sure, though she did acknowledge that all the money involved was a frustrating aspect of the job.
"I didn't get into medicine to get into business," she said emphasizing that her foremost concern was caring for patients, not caring for lawyers, premiums and legal briefs.
For now, Democrats seem uninterested in any move to include limits of malpractice awards in a health bill. That should hold in the House, but in the Senate, it could prove hard to block such an amendment on the floor.
On other issues with reform that we touched on, she also expressed frustration with cost disparities in different geographical areas, saying there was no reason that doctors should get paid $1,000 more by insurance companeis to deliver a baby in Buffalo or Syracuse, as opposed to Rochester, NY, where she practiced.
She seemed conflicted about the best moves for reform, worried that no matter what is done, the whole system could collapse in coming years, because of the lack of integrated approaches to health care treatments.
It was an interesting view into the debate, one that's obviously repeated with varying conclusions all over the country.
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