Bill > H1151

This bill aims to encourage quality reviews and reduce costs in healthcare. It does this by: 1) Extending medical peer review protections to committees formed by individual healthcare providers, physician group practices, and licensed healthcare facilities, even if the formation of the committee is not required by law or regulation. 2) Changing the interest rate calculation for medical malpractice judgments, setting it at the weekly average 1-year constant maturity Treasury yield plus 2%, with a cap at the existing statutory interest rate. 3) Requiring plaintiffs in medical malpractice cases to prove the defendant acted with less than ordinary and reasonable care, and that the plaintiff's injuries were a direct result of the defendant's negligence. It also limits recovery for loss of an opportunity to survive or achieve a better result to cases where the opportunity was greater than 50%. 4) Modifying Chapter 93A (the Massachusetts consumer protection law) to specify that the amount of actual damages to be multiplied by the court is the judgment interest, not the underlying judgment amount.

Health and Social Services, Justice

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/191/H1151