Underway at this hour, the first in a series of public hearings on legislation that could have a profound impact on medical practice on Guam.

Authored by Speaker Therese Terlaje, the bill would fundamentally change how malpractice claims are filed here.

Current law requires that you go before a three-member arbitration panel that will decide if the malpractice claim can go forward.

But at an average cost of $6,000, proponents for a change say it's too expensive for those with average or lesser means and precludes them from even pursuing a valid claim.

The Terlaje bill removes mandatory arbitration and adds the option of a court magistrate's hearing to resolve differences.

"I think it's much more affordable that we fund a magistrate to act as the screening panel so we allow the cases to be screened," Terlaje said. "We're allowing these cases to be screened like no other are screened on Guam. It's a very special protection, it's confidential, they're going to screen for frivolous cases."

Terlaje said doctors who have not acted outside of the established care for Guam are still protected because the standard doesn't change.

"I think that needs to be made very, very, very clear because there's a huge misconception out there that now they're going to be exposed to all kinds of liability that they weren't exposed to today and that's absolutely wrong," she said.

But she says patients who've been victims of malpractice should be protected too.

"It allows access to justice for patients that right now, and this is the facts, they do not have access to justice," Terlaje said.

A number of doctors are pushing back though. For example, a pediatricians group sent a letter saying the changes would have a chilling effect on adult specialists, who would no longer be willing to take on children's cases.

Hearings on the Bill are also scheduled for July 7 and July 12 from 5 - 8:30 p.m.