Healthcare professionals protest medical arbitration bill ahead of public hearings

Outside of the Guam Congress Building late this afternoon, several doctors showed up expressing just how much they oppose a bill by Speaker Therese Terlaje. 

The measure - Bill 112 - would amend the controversial mandatory medical malpractice arbitration act. 

Health professionals, however, claim the bill would lead to a spike in - what they call - frivolous claims filed against them and more doctors unwilling to work in Guam. 

Dr. Nathaniel Berg took heat from participant Erin Williams.

Berg: There’s no one here who wants it to be non-affordable so we need to sit and talk and say how do we make it to meet certain criteria.

Williams:  You guys want to come to the table. It’s been four years.

 Berg: You will have a chance.  

Williams: I have my chance.  

Berg: I am just asking you to be polite.

 Williams: Thank you for my free speech. I appreciate that.

Dr. Mariana Cook-Huynh also spoke out against the bill.

“We need to say no to this bill,” she said. “We need to come to the table, we need to have our senators really listen to us. They have heard from us last summer and here we are again in unity saying no this is still not the solution. We need to come up with a better solution for what is already a fragile healthcare system and it’s only going to get worse if this bill were to pass.”

The health care professionals said the arbitration process is not the underlying problem and the bill is not the solution.

A pair of public hearings on the bill followed the protest where testimonies are being heard from both those for and against it.