BARBOUR FOR GOVERNOR RELEASES:
“HEART OF THE MATTER”
Campaign commercial highlights healthcare relief
through ending lawsuit abuse
JACKSON (September 12, 2007) – Barbour for Governor begins running a new television commercial today entitled Heart of the Matter, highlighting Governor Haley Barbour’s leadership in providing relief to Mississippi’s healthcare community by enacting comprehensive tort reform. Below, please find the commercial script and fact sheet.
Barbour for Governor - “Heart of the Matter”
DR. GALLOWAY: “I’m Doctor Kevin Galloway and I am a physician in Jackson Mississippi. When I first started my practice it was particularly challenging. We had a legal system run amok.”
NARRATOR: When Haley Barbour took office, lawsuit abuse was driving doctors out of Mississippi at a record rate.
GRAPHIC: “Exodus of doctors is crisis.” Associated Press 7/11/02
FACT: In 2002, hundreds of doctors were unable to find insurance companies that would write policies for them due to frivolous medical malpractice lawsuits in Mississippi. Several rural Mississippi towns were left with no obstetricians whatsoever. The Mississippi State Medical Association referred to the future of our health care as a “bleak picture” unless reforms were enacted. The American Medical Association labeled Mississippi as one of 12 states with the greatest lack of insurance coverage for physicians. Mississippi was known as a “haven for trial lawyers” due to $100 million-plus verdicts and settlements. Some Mississippi residents were forced to travel over 100 miles to out-of-state clinics for medical care. - Reference: Associated Press, Sun Herald: July 11, 2002
DR. GALLOWAY: “When I met Haley Barbour, I expressed to him my concern about frivolous lawsuits. Governor Barbour listened; he understood."
NARRATOR: Governor Barbour signed the most comprehensive tort reform law in history. The result…
GRAPHIC: “Doctors Praise Tort Bill Passage” Natchez Democrat 6/5/04
FACT: “…take a look at Mississippi, where this morning Governor Haley Barbour will sign into law one of the most comprehensive legal reform bills in the nation.” The United States Chamber of Commerce ran ads only two years earlier warning businesses to stay out of Mississippi due to our litigation climate; after the tort bill passed, the U.S. Chamber reacted by running ads stating: “Mississippi is now open for business.” - Reference: The Wall Street Journal, Editorial, June 16, 2004
FACT: Doctors in Mississippi saw the tort bill as a “really significant” change and looked forward to the new doctors that could be recruited to the state due to improvements in our legal environment. Local businesses praised the new law because it reduces the stress load on small businesses with lower premiums and lawsuit caps. - Reference: Natchez Democrat, June 5, 2004
FACT: Medical Assurance Company of Mississippi, an insurance provider for 70 percent of Mississippi physicians, increased annual premiums an average of 21.9% each year from 2000 to 2003. MACM did not raise premiums in 2005, decreased premiums by 5 percent in 2006, and saw a 10 percent decrease in 2007. MACM today released information stating they will have a 15.5 percent decrease in premiums for 2008. – Statistics courtesy of Medical Assurance Company of Mississippi
DR. GALLOWAY: “Our physicians can get back to the very heart of medicine, which is caring for the patients.”
(End graphic: Haley Barbour / Governor)
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