Rising medical malpractice suits and ridiculous insurance costs for hospitals and doctors have sent legislators scrambling for ways to keep doctors in Illinois.

Unfortunately, the solutions often shift too much of the responsibility from doctors to the state. This is the case with a new proposal in Illinois.

Bills pending in the Illinois House and Senate would establish a “Sorry Works” pilot program in two hospitals, according to a Feb. 24 article in the Chicago Sun-Times.

As part of the program, doctors and hospitals can apologize to patients and offer prompt compensation. Patients would then be less likely to sue, supporters said. Still, wronged patients deserve ample compensation.

The plan is to use state money to compensate hospitals if the program ends up increasing the amount of money the hospitals pay for lawsuits. If they save money, hospitals will keep the savings.

Although this may seem to be a good solution, the plan does not take into account extreme cases, such as when doctors accidently amputate a limb or perform the wrong procedure on a patient. When hospitals make a mistake that leads to significant physical harm of an individual, the burden of compensation should not shift to the state.

Granted, sometimes all people want when a hospital makes a mistake is an apology, an honest explanation and quick compensation.

Perhaps more significant than the plan itself is its underlying moral principle: hospitals should view their patients as real people who need real explanations if a mistake is made. If doctors and hospital administrators treat patients better, perhaps they will be more likely to accept a smaller settlement. This can be good for hospitals and doctors who are struggling financially.

By the same token, courts should take into account if the hospital practiced this principle when determining settlements.

However, if hospitals are responsible for legitimately harming a patient, they should have to face the full repercussions of that mistake. Taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay for it.