HARTFORD, Conn. — Connecticut officials, concerned that graduates of its medical schools are fleeing the state, are looking for ways to encourage those freshly minted doctors to remain.
State Rep. Prasad Srinivasin, a board-certified allergist and the only physician in the General Assembly, said he’s worried Connecticut is losing both home-grown and out-of-state medical students to other states where there may be more doctor-friendly medical malpractice laws and affordable costs of living.
Srinivasin recently had firsthand experience with the problem when he tried to hire a new allergist at his practice. “I just couldn’t recruit anyone to come to Connecticut,” he said.
The Republican lawmaker has unsuccessfully pushed for changes to the state’s medical malpractice laws since he was elected five years ago. At the same time, Srinivasin has opposed proposals he and other doctors contend will exacerbate the problem, including a bill last year that extended the statute of limitations in medical malpractice cases filed on behalf of minors.
While proponents argued Connecticut’s current law is a national outlier and harms children, the Connecticut State Medical Society said the proposed legislation, which died due to inaction in the House of Representatives last session, would increase already high medical malpractice insurance rates.
Dr. Robert Russo, past president of the medical society, told state lawmakers last year the bill was “not the answer to fixing our broken tort system and will only further serve as an impediment to attracting and retaining physicians.” He urged the General Assembly to work with the medical community to look at alternatives to the current system, such as courts
that only handle health matters and alternative dispute resolution processes.
It appears that discussion could happen early next year.
