Malpractice

The Tort Reform Scam

Think About It. Malpractice suits aren't raising insurance rates. Insurance company greed is the culprit. There's a better way to handle this fake "crisis": physician-organized insurance carriers. It will be realistically priced. It will motivate the profession to rid itself of the 5 percent of doctors responsible for 55 percent of malpractice payouts.

Medical Malpractice Insurance Carrier
Raises Rates 45 Percent Average

One of Florida’s medical malpractice insurance carriers is raising its 2004 premiums an average of 45 percent. Indiana-based GE Medical Protective, which covers about 2,500 Florida doctors, said Wednesday that its increase had been approved by the state Office of Insurance Regulation. Lisa Miller, a spokeswoman for Florida’s Office of Insurance Regulation, said GE Medical Protective made a solid case for its requested increase. ‘‘Their overall losses in this market justified the rate increase,’’ she said. ‘‘It was actuarially supported. It really kind of brings them in line with the other carriers in the marketplace, and allows them to be able to continue to offer coverage.’’

Rising Insurance Rates Need Credible Reasons

When Pennsylvania recently agreed to raise cigarette taxes to once again subsidize doctors’ MCare premiums, it was accurately described by many as a “Band-Aid” solution to the larger problem of rising malpractice insurance rates that doctors and hospitals pay. The question that remains to be answered is, why are rates high and growing even higher? Is it unscrupulous and careless business tactics by insurers, who have gouged doctors and hospitals to cover their losses in other business investments?

WHO Guilty of 'Medical Malpractice'

The World Health Organisation and the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFATM), are responsible for this deadly policy failure. AIDS activists and Democrats, who attack Mr. Bush for his miserly funding of these agencies for the treatment of AIDS should acknowledge that the Bush administration is right to retain control of the funds it delivers, since it is far from certain the Geneva-based multilateral health agencies can be trusted.

Bush Addresses Medical Malpractice Reform Again

WASHINGTON - President Bush, for the third time in as many years, called for medical malpractice reform Tuesday during his annual State of the Union speech - earning praise from Pennsylvania lawmakers who nonetheless doubt it can be achieved this year. Bush has repeatedly pushed for a $250,000 cap on jury payoffs to negligence victims to curb what he calls "frivolous" lawsuits.

Judge Rules State Must Publicize
Confidential Malpractice Settlements

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- New Jersey will have to release information on settlements between doctors and medical malpractice plaintiffs to the public, a state Superior Court judge ruled Friday. The ruling by Judge Sybil Moses will require the state to disclose notices it has received in the last five years from insurance companies that have made medical malpractice payments on behalf of doctors.

What ever happend to Prop. 12?

Does anyone remember Proposition 12? This was the constitutional amendment that was finally going to make medical care affordable for the 23.2 percent of Texans who don't have health coverage and cheaper for all the rest of us. This miracle was going to happen because doctors would now be able to afford insurance malpractice premiums and so would be able to expand the care they offered. The upper limit of damages for medical-malpractice was pegged at $250,000, much less if the person hurt was a child, or a retired person, or a stay-at-home mom, or some other non-economically-productive person. No relief for inflation was built in.

Malpractice Insurance Rates
Still High Despite Amendment

AUSTIN - A controversial amendment to the state's constitution was supposed to lower medical malpractice insurance costs for doctors, but few have seen their rates go down in the four months since voters narrowly approved it. The state's largest malpractice insurer, the Texas Medical Liability Trust, has lowered rates 12 percent for about 11,000 of the state's 38,000 doctors. Other companies are either holding rates steady or have requested rate increases as high as 35 percent from the state Department of Insurance. Supporters of Proposition 12, which placed a $250,000 cap on noneconomic damage awards such as pain and suffering in medical lawsuits, say it's too early to judge the law.

Doctors Protest Insurance Costs

ANNAPOLIS — About 2,000 Maryland doctors rallied in the frigid cold demanding legislative action to reduce medical-malpractice insurance rates. They said their rally in front of the State House is a starting point for a larger effort to become more politically active. They want the General Assembly to pass four bills that would limit payouts in malpractice cases.

Kentucky Senate Passes Medical Malpractice Amendment

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- A proposed constitutional amendment on medical malpractice was passed by the Kentucky Senate. The vote was 23 to 14 with one abstention. The legislation now goes to the House. It will go on the ballot in November if the House passes it, too. The amendment asks voters to give the General Assembly the authority to enact caps on damages and impose other restrictions in malpractice cases.

Medical Malpractice Costs, Prison Costs also on Agenda

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Legislative leaders _ busy taking questions about the decision to formally investigate Gov. John G. Rowland _ insisted they would also find time this year to deal with medical malpractice costs and prison crowding.

Ohio Doctors Protected from Malpractice

Doctors and others who provide free health care will be exempted from malpractice lawsuits under a bill Governor Taft signed today. The bill, sponsored by Republican Senator Steve Stivers of Columbus,will become law March 14th.

Senate President Pushing Amendment To Cap Malpractice Awards

There could soon be sweeping changes in the way Kentucky handles its medical malpractice cases. Senate Republicans are proposing legislation aimed at restricting jury rewards. They plan on bringing it up for a vote in the senate on Thursday.

GOP Seeks Malpractice Insurance Reform in Illinois

SPRINGFIELD -- Senate Republicans will push proposals aimed at reducing malpractice insurance costs and keeping doctors in Illinois. Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson, R-Greenville, said rising malpractice insurance costs are pushing doctors out of rural Illinois and creating a health care shortage around the state.

In Pennsylvania: Counties Told to Track Malpractice Cases

Counties must start tracking the number of malpractice cases filed annually in each of the judicial districts as part of an ongoing analysis being conducted by the state Supreme Court. But the Pennsylvania Medical Society said the court should be focusing on the number of payouts, not filings, to find a reason why malpractice insurance rates keep increasing in Pennsylvania.

Doctors Reach a Crisis Point

The medical liability insurance crisis has reached a point where it is chasing physicians out of medicine. The most extreme aspect of the situation concerns obstetricians/gynecologists. The practice of obstetrics, preparation for and delivery of newborn babies, is a malpractice nightmare. Not only does that practice pose the potential for profound damage to a person that may last his or her life, but the statute of limitations for instituting such a lawsuit against a physician (normally three years) does not even begin to run until a child reaches the age of majority, which is 18 in Maryland.

Medical Malpractice Insurance Woes Go On

Vascular surgeon Joseph Costabile is part of a 12-doctor Cherry Hill practice that is finding it harder to do its work these days. Surgical Group of South Jersey, which specializes in cardiac, vascular and colon/rectal surgery, faced a 100 percent increase in its medical malpractice insurance premium in 2002 and another 100 percent increase last year. "We're paying $1.4 million for 12 surgeons. I think that is excessive," said Costabile, president of the Camden County Medical Society.

Patient Loses Malpractice Suit

A former Akron firefighter who lost an arm to cancer lost his malpractice lawsuit against his physician Friday. A Summit County jury voted 6-2 in favor of Akron physician Dr. Rasheed Nemer, ending the weeklong trial. David Gurley, 57, and his wife, Ann Marie, had sought nearly $3 million in damages, alleging that Nemer had failed to diagnose Gurley's rare bone cancer in time to spare his left arm from amputation.

N.C. Badly Needs Medical Malpractice Reform

As North Carolina lawmakers continue to make progress on the path to badly needed medical malpractice reform, it's important to remember that there's no single simple fix that will solve the problem of the skyrocketing insurance premiums that are causing doctors to leave high-risk practices like obstetrics.

Ohio House Passes Malpractice Safety Net

The Ohio House Wednesday unanimously approved reviving a "safety net" for hospitals and physicians in case a major medical malpractice insurer pulls out of the state. The bill would require putting $12 million left over from a former state-backed medical malpractice program into a trust.v

Costlier Malpractice Insurance Harming Patients, Doctor Says

Imagine you have a brain tumor, but surgeon after surgeon refuses to remove it. Dr. Henry M. Shuey Jr., a private neurosurgeon in a group with offices next to St. Agnes Hospital, recalls such a case.