April 28, 2003
ANOTHER VIEW:
Bill would support care for elderly Texans
___By Ken Hall
___The good news is more of us are living longer. The bad news is we may have fewer places to live.
___Skyrocketing liability insurance premiums caused by aggressive trial lawyers are forcing non-profit faith-based and mission-driven nursing home organizations to close their doors.
___Baptists need look no further than Buckner Baptist Benevolences.
___Last year, we were forced to close the Ryburn Nursing Center in Dallas because we could not afford the cost of insurance.
___Rates are up an average of 1,000 percent among faith-based organizations. For Buckner, that means our liability insurance costs went from just over $300,000 to more than $4.5 million in less than three years.
Ken Hall
___But the highest cost is not monetary. The highest cost is what we are doing to our elderly. It was a heartbreaking experience for me personally last year to watch families take their loved ones from their home at Ryburn and move them to unfamiliar surroundings.
___Another result of this financial crisis that directly affects our Buckner ministry is that we are not able to provide subsidized care to many of our residents who need it. That's just not right.
___What's going on?
___Simply put, trial lawyers have discovered the golden egg in nursing home litigation. Non-profit faith-based organizations like Buckner, which are recognized for outstanding care, are paying the price for the poor care delivered by a few for-profit providers.
___Long-term care residents who have unavoidable accidents or experience a sudden decline in health become excuses for exorbitant lawsuits with no legitimate basis.
___You can imagine what happens next. To protect ourselves, providers are forced to dedicate more and more resources to paying outrageous insurance premiums and defending frivolous lawsuits with no merit.
___As a result, organizations like Buckner raise our rates, close nursing homes, or go without insurance and risk losing all our ministries due to these frivolous lawsuits.
___Now we have another choice, and we need Texas Baptists to help us get there.
___The current session of the Texas Legislature is working on an omnibus tort reform bill that would help long-term care providers and yet still give those with a meaningful grievance their day in court.
___It is vitally important to our Baptist ministries providing long-term care in a faith-based environment that HB-4 emerge from legislative conference committees and go to the governor for his signature. These measures would:
___Protect the endowments of faith-based organizations. Currently, endowment funds given to support non-profit ministries could be vulnerable to negative legal judgments.
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___I believe these are fair and just measures for long-term care providers and for plaintiffs seeking legal recourse. But now is the time for you to help.
___One thing I've learned in the last few months is your voice does make a difference. Legislators listen.
___That's why I'm asking the Texas Baptist family to speak up on behalf of the elderly and on behalf of our long-term care ministries.
___The next two weeks are crucial. Please call, write or e-mail your state representative or senator. If you do not know how to contact your legislators, call (512) 463-4630, or go to www.capitol.state.tx.us and click on the link "Who represents me?"
___Ken Hall is president and chief executive officer of Buckner Baptist Benevolences, which includes five continuing care retirement facilities in Texas
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