By Eli Reshef, M.D

Texas is winning not only the famous Red River rivalry but a much more substantial battle ” access to health care.

Oklahomans are waiting longer to see a doctor and driving farther to see a medical specialist. At least half of all counties here don't have the facilities to deliver a baby. A recent study estimated that our state will need 30 percent more family practice physicians in the next 15 years in order to care for the growing and aging population. Where will they come from?

In January 2004, Gov. Brad Henry promised Oklahoma a "Texas-Plus" lawsuit reform after Texas passed Proposition 12, a constitutional amendment to limit non-economic damage awards in medical lawsuits. Almost three years later, our state has passed only a smattering of changes in our legal system, at best a "Texas-minus" effort.

While trial lawyers in Texas blamed the liability crisis there on the greedy insurance industry, three years after Texas' bold move to curb outrageous jury awards we see the following:

Once-skyrocketing liability insurance rates for physicians and hospitals are falling rapidly.

A record number of new physicians are being licensed in Texas.

The number of medical specialists is growing rapidly.

This revival flies in the face of the trial lawyers' "greedy insurance industry" theory. Trial lawyers can point the finger of blame as much as they want, but the evidence continues to point back at them. The same positive process is now occurring in Mississippi, which finally passed lawsuit reform after providing plaintiff-friendly "judicial hellholes" for years. Coincidence?

While few physicians read the widely circulated Journal of the American Bar Association, I was pleasantly surprised to read in the current issue about the woes of Texas trial lawyers following the passage of Proposition 12. The well of easy income from inflated jury awards in medical liability and class-action cases is drying up. Personal injury law firms are downsizing, relocating or switching to other areas of litigation.

Will there be a day here in our state when the same process occurs -- doctors coming in, lawyers exiting, while hardworking Oklahomans get better access to health care? Will there be a day when physicians are able to practice their trade without the constant fear of frivolous lawsuits?

In Tuesday's elections, Oklahoma voters can determine the fate of their own access to health care by voting for state legislators who are friendly to lawsuit reform. Most crucial is the support for the right candidates for state Senate seats. Lawsuit reform legislation passed the state House in recent years but failed in the Senate.

If such legislation does not get the nod from both houses in the upcoming legislative session, Oklahomans will be the direct losers of access to health care. This effort in Texas resulted in a renaissance in health care, while Oklahoma is sinking into the Middle Ages in this area.

Reshef practices medicine in Oklahoma City.