Rod Serling would love this story. It definitely qualifies as “Twilight Zone” material. However, in this case it’s not fiction. It is all too real.

Currently, Colorado’s trial lawyers are lobbying the state Legislature to amend the state’s current medical malpractice caps. That’s right, in the middle of a crisis in access and affordability in health care, a few trial lawyers thought it would be a great time to substantially increase the cost of medical malpractice.

If you haven’t caught the irony, here it is: Raising medical malpractice caps will lead to even less affordable health care and will reduce accessibility to certain specialties. We are witnessing this in other states, and it could easily happen in Colorado where we already face shortages in physician numbers due to other economic factors.

Colorado’s health care industry and its consumers have saved millions of dollars over the last two decades thanks to the previous passage of The Health Care Availability Act. It has stabilized the cost of medical malpractice premiums. Now, as we watch physicians in other states scramble, and in some cases quit or leave their practices, the trial lawyers in this state wish to impose similar conditions here in the Rocky Mountains.

What is even more disconcerting and bewildering is the fact that their bill (SB 164) has found sponsors in the state Legislature. In fact, the Senate president has sponsored the bill.

Cue the music from the old “Twilight Zone” series.

Yes — the same Legislature that asked for, and just received, recommendations on health care reform from the 208 Commission is now considering legislation that would take us in the exact opposite direction. Go figure. And I think my head is spinning.

Over the last 18 months, as the 208 Commission studied health care reform, they met with and asked citizens for ways to improve Colorado’s health care system. This request included ideas on increasing safety and reducing medical errors. While doctors have and will continue to be part of this discussion, the trial lawyers have been missing in action.

Could it be that the lawyers are more interested in increasing the awards in malpractice cases than they are in system changes that will lead to real improvements in safety and error reduction in medical care?

So why are a few state legislators working so hard to help the trial lawyers while most people and businesses are clamoring for more affordable and accessible health care? Maybe they have not done their homework on health care economics. Maybe they believe the trial lawyers’ “Twilight Zone” arguments that raising caps on malpractice awards will not reduce access to what’s left of affordable health care. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s just about political fundraising and payback.

Here’s an idea — how about drafting legislation that keeps malpractice premiums stable while increasing monetary awards to the patients. We could do this by capping the amount of money that goes to the lawyers in malpractice cases. Currently, less than 25 percent of malpractice insurance premiums are used to compensate the injured patient.

As this all plays out, we should all thank our representatives from the Western Slope. Sen. Penry, Rep. Buescher and Rep. King are all opposing SB 164.

Apparently, this “Twilight Zone” is only a Front Range phenomenon.

<i>Dr. Michael J. Pramenko is a family physician at Primary Care Partners. A graduate of Dartmouth Medical School, he did his residency training in Grand Junction at St. Mary’s Family Practice Residency. As immediate past president of the Mesa County Medical Society, Dr. Pramenko currently serves on the Colorado Medical Society’s Congress for Health Care Reform as well as Club 20’s Health Care Committee.</i>