Waging Uphill Battle
Business First
November 15, 2002

Foes of a bill that would limit damage awards in medical malpractice lawsuits wonder if their last-ditch stand against the legislation can dissuade state lawmakers from passing it by year-end.

"There is no doubt in my mind they will attempt to pass the bill this year, and Gov. Taft Arill sign it," said Bryan Clark, legislative advocate for the Ohio Public Interest Research Group, a nonprofit advocacy organization.

"There is also a high likelihood the bill will be found constitutional by the new Supreme Court," he said.

…

Contrary to the views of tort reform advocates, Clark said jury awards in malpractice cases are not the "smoking gun" for higher insurance rates.

Citing research from Americans for Insurance Reform, he said malpractice insurance premiums have not tracked payouts from jury awards and settlements over the past 30 years. Instead, they have followed the ebb and flow of the general economy.

"They are a smokescreen for an insurance industry that faces declining profits due to a faltering economy," Clark said.

Critics of tort reform say the real roots for the medical malpractice crisis can be traced to the 1990s when many insurers underpriced their products to grab market share.

That worked when insurers could land high returns from investing premium dollars in the booming stock market. But when the market bottomed out in 2000, insurers imposed rate increases to cover their costs and claims.

"That's a simple but fair explanation," Clark said.

For a copy of the complete article, contact AIR.