HERRIN - The waiting room of Logan Primary Care was full of sick patients, and the physicians on duty scrambled to meet all of their appointments before lunch Thursday.

Neither group had much energy or time to wax lyrical about Wednesday's agreement in Springfield regarding medical malpractice. But the idea that legislators have made agreements on the outstanding issues debated over the last two years - like a $500,000 limit on "pain and suffering" damages to individuals, a $1 million cap on awards from hospitals and more insurance rate regulation - gave everyone in the care center reason to hope things will soon be better.

Logan physician Dr. Aaron Workman said he feels better about continuing his career in the region, now that some agreement has been met.

Workman started at the center last July and plans to become a full partner in the next several months.

"I know I wanted to stay in this area," Workman said. "I can say it was scary wondering what was going to change under the medical malpractice insurance."

The Logan Primary Care group gets its insurance policy through the Illinois State Medical Insurance Exchange, a branch of the state medical society.

ISMIE, the largest medical liability insurance provider in the state, decided not to increase rates on customers this year.

Now, if the caps on non-economic damages get signed into law, Workman said he expects insurance rates to drop.

"My hope is they would go down," he said. "That is the idea for the caps."

Logan administrator Tara Deaton said every doctor in the group wants to see insurance rate relief.

"I think they are very hopeful," Deaton said. "When it is completely finalized, that will give them more encouragement there is hope."

Once word gets out that Illinois' troubles with medical malpractice are easing, Deaton said it should become easier to recruit new doctors to

Southern Illinois, which has been one of the areas of the state experiencing a high percentage of doctors leaving.

As she waited in the center's lobby Thursday, Veterans Affairs Hospital pharmacy technician Cathy Bailey said she's taking a "wait and see" approach to whether medical malpractice reform makes a difference. Several area doctors have joined the VA hospital in Marion after giving up their own private practices because of pressures from rising malpractice insurance rates.

Bailey said reform may be important to patients, but how legislators enact it is also important to them.

"I'm afraid it's going to end up the same way worker's comp turned out, and they'll try to figure out what one body part is worth against another," Bailey said. "To me the biggest problem is the insurance companies; they've made the most money and they stand to lose the most with reform."

Bailey said she wonders whether statements made about deluges of frivolous lawsuits were ever true.

"I've seen patients that had a case - and had a good case - but they didn't file," she said.

Sesser resident Delmar Jones, another patient waiting in the lobby, said things have been off balance in the last couple years, and it has hurt people's ability to reach a doctor.

Jones said he expects legislators to install a system that will turn the tide.

"Things are getting out of proportion," he said. "Hopefully, these are the first steps toward an answer."

caleb.hale@thesouthern.com

618-529-5454 x15090

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