CHARLOTTE, NC: A national doctors group has stepped up PR in three Southern states that could change the stakes for medical malpractice awards.
The advocacy group, Doctors for Medical Liability Reform, is working with agencies Blue Nine Partners and Eisenhauer Marketing Matters to reach voters in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.
Each state has an open Senate seat this election and could influence future votes on the issue.
Clint Eisenhauer, principal of Eisenhauer Marketing Matters, noted that the campaign is using grassroots outreach to educate voters. He added that the effort is not a political campaign, per se, but is in response to the Senate's inability to pass a medical-liability reform bill.
"We are trying to keep the issue in front of voters," he explained.
As malpractice insurance premiums rise, "It's just not economical for [doctors] to be in practice anymore," he added.
Key message points of the campaign will focus on how rural areas have been especially hard hit by the loss of high-risk specialties, such as obstetrics.
The agencies also have arranged speaking forums in front of medical groups.
"Many of the states have medical liability reform under way, and we're very supportive of those," Eisenhauer said. "We just need federal [support]."
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