Two state senators — one a doctor, the other a lawyer — are quietly pushing a compromise plan on malpractice reform, a hot topic both in Oregon and on the national stage.

The plan — which is being drafted into a bill — could help hold down malpractice costs, give injured people their day in court and help stop the flight of medical specialists from rural Oregon, said Sen. Alan Bates, D-Ashland, who convened the talks along with Sen. Charlie Ringo, D-Beaverton.

Bates, a doctor, said preliminary plans call for a new "pre-screening panel," which would review malpractice claims before they go to trial. Claims without merit would be flagged by panel members.

Several states already have similar committees, including Maine and Idaho.

The plan also calls for the creation of a malpractice self-insurance fund for Oregon doctors, much like the state’s attorneys have in their Professional Liability Fund.

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All of the state’s doctors would pay money into the fund to ensure there’s sufficient money to cover big jury awards. Money for the fund could also come from medical insurance bills.

Dr. Chuck Hofmann, a Baker City internist and former president of the Oregon Medical Association who has been participating in the group told The Bend Bulletin that talks have been "cordial, but intense."

Physicians and lawyers want to be sure people who are truly harmed are compensated, said Hofmann, who is Baker City’s current mayor.

At the same time, they agree that too-high malpractice insurance rates hurt the state, Hofmann said.

"Everybody wants a solution, and we hope we’ve come up with a good one," he said. "We’ve done as much as we can do; now we need to see if there’s the political will in Salem."

The battle over rising malpractice insurance costs spurred by huge jury awards has already been to the Oregon ballot.

Last November, voters narrowly defeated Measure 35, a health care industry-backed proposal that would have rewritten the state constitution to cap so-called pain and suffering awards at $500,000.

If lawmakers do nothing, then Oregon might again be a ballot box battleground, Ringo said.

He said neither doctors nor lawyers will love the proposal — but he hopes both sides can live with it.

Still, the Oregon Medical Association and Oregon Trial Lawyers Association have yet to offer their opinions of the Bates-Ringo proposal. Those organizations — which squared off in the Measure 35 battle — weren’t invited to the table.

But if either group sours on the Bates-Ringo idea, the chances of passing any reforms are slim.

Alan Tresidder, a lobbyist for the attorneys, said there’s no urgency in Salem to do something about malpractice reform this session, and no uniform agreement that it is a widespread problem that needs fixing.

He said lawyers are leery about the idea of prescreening cases before court.

Scott Gallant, lobbyist for the Oregon Medical Association, said doctors aren’t convinced of the need for a self-insurance fund.