CMS, medical liability featured in the Denver Business Journal

Friday, January 16, 2015 01:15 PM

The Colorado Medical Society and COPIC last week were featured in the Denver Business Journal cover story on issues in the 2015 General Assembly. The article connects the dots between political engagement and the legislative consequences to maintaining the stability of the current tort system.

Click here to read the full story.

The DBJ points to a battle in California that cost opponents $60 million to defeat a ballot initiative that would have raised the caps on medical-malpractice lawsuit damages. The DBJ said it’s not likely that the same fight will be repeated in the Colorado Legislature because of COPIC and CMS - the two biggest donor organizations to legislative candidates. Both hold stability of the medical liability system as a top legislative priority for 2015.

The two groups spent a combined $288,520 on winning candidates in 2014 and contributed their donations almost evenly - $145,700 to Democrats and $142,820 to Republicans, the DBJ cited in the article. In addition to strategic contributions, both organizations provide education to incumbents and newly elected legislators after the elections, which contributes to their success: It’s been six years since any attempt was made to raise medical malpractice caps and about 10 years since even small changes were made to medical tort law in the state.

“The Colorado General Assembly has made some very positive decisions in the past few years in both policy and funding that CMS has strongly supported,” CMS President Tamaan Osbourne-Roberts, MD, said in the article. “We don’t always get what we want and no group does or should, but we feel good that our voice is heard and given fair consideration.”

CMS urges all members to join us in preserving one of the most stable medical liability climates in the country and sustaining our advocacy on behalf of the medical profession. The Legislature, which convened Jan. 7, 2015, will consider a wide range of policy options that will directly and indirectly influence the clinical and business side of your practice. Help us take our views and voices from the exam room into the hearing rooms at the Capitol.

Click here to join COMPAC or the Small Donor Committee today through our secure online payment system.

For members who already donate to our advocacy efforts – thank you. Your voices are heard and your ideas have consequences. From the election cycle through the legislative session, your investment coupled with grassroots engagement makes the difference between stability and a regression into lawsuit range wars.