OPED: Colorado insurance proposals would harm our most vulnerable patients: Sentinel Colorado

As a pediatrician at Every Child Pediatrics (ECP) in Aurora, I am passionate about providing quality care to our predominantly low-income community. Unfortunately, our ability to continue to provide excellent, affordable patient care and service is threatened by a series of proposed ballot measures that would remove reasonable limits on the amount of money people can collect when they order a provider medical care.

To be clear, I fully support that patients who suffer negligence deserve to be fairly compensated, which is why there is currently no limit to the amount of money that can be awarded to someone for financial damages, such as lost wages or ongoing medical expenses. But without limits on how much they can receive for unmeasured damages, the cost of health care will skyrocket and lead to worsening health access and outcomes for all Coloradans.

If these measures succeed in abolishing caps on non-economic damages, statewide health care costs would increase by about $155 million annually, estimates COPIC, a Colorado-based medical liability insurance company. In states with non-economic damage caps that are too high or nonexistent, practices have been forced to file for bankruptcy or close entirely due to astronomical verdicts, ultimately limiting access to patient care.

As a safety net clinic offering everything from general pediatrics to mental health and dental services, our operations could be debilitatingly impacted by cost increases like these. Increasing professional medical liability insurance premiums would make it much more difficult to maintain our staffing levels. With less staff, our pediatric patients and their families would face longer wait times to schedule appointments, speak with a nurse or connect with their medical provider. This would negatively impact the health outcomes of the most vulnerable children in our community.

At ECP we care for complex patients who cannot afford delays in care. In any given week, I see babies who are not growing well, several children with autism and behavioral problems whose parents need help understanding how to support and manage them, and teenagers with suicidal ideation who require psychiatric support and follow-up narrow We have patients with chronic conditions from diabetes to asthma, as well as others who must be fed through G-tubes or use oxygen at home. These children cannot afford a lapse in access to care.

When kids can’t get the preventative care they need, like getting their asthma medicine refills or G-tube formulas, they end up in the emergency room or the hospital. And kids who can’t get mental health appointments end up hospitalized for suicide attempts or worse. These are horrific outcomes for the child and their family and strain our entire healthcare system. And what many don’t realize is that this also increases the burden on taxpayers.

As a mission-driven physician, I know that reduced access to care disproportionately hurts people in rural and low-income communities, and we can’t let that happen in Colorado. My colleagues and I are calling on the state legislature and Governor Jared Polis to pass Senate Bill 130 to avoid this disastrous impact on patient care and access. Senate Bill 130 would proactively raise the cap on noneconomic damages from the current $300,000 to $500,000, bringing Colorado on par with other states that cap noneconomic damages. This ensures patients are fairly compensated for non-economic losses when negligence occurs, while protecting vulnerable Coloradans’ access to affordable, quality health care. Contact your elected officials and urge them to support Senate Bill 130 to protect accessible care for all, including vulnerable and underserved children.

Dr. Sophia Meharena, DO, is a pediatrician at Every Child Pediatrics (ECP) in Aurora and a board member of COPIC, a liability insurance company.

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