Storm Brews in GA Over Malpractice; Sharply Rising Insurance Expenses Cause Some Doctors to Drop Services
Macon Telegraph
December 30, 2002

When Dr. Randy Lentz got his latest bill for malpractice insurance, he knew something had to give.

A young family practitioner in Jesup, Lentz has only been in business for about a year and a half. Thus far, he hasn't been sued.
Yet his bill for a year of insurance jumped nearly 300 percent, from $8,000 to $30,000.

So he decided to stop delivering babies, a sideline he offered to poor women who can't afford the obstetrics specialists in town. His reasoning: obstetrics work carries a higher risk of lawsuits and higher insurance rates.

Lentz said he isn't taking any new patients, and expects to be out of obstetrics altogether by next year.

"You just can't afford these rates," Lentz said.

. . .

In October, Americans for Insurance Reform published a study looking at insurance industry income and expenditures.

Their conclusion: "Not only has there been no 'explosion' in medical malpractice payouts at any time during the past 30 years, but payments in constant dollars have been extremely stable and virtually flat since the mid 1980s."

They found that "premiums rise and fall in concert with the state of the economy reflecting gains and losses experienced by the insurance industry's market investments."

Both the watchdog group and the trial lawyers say there's no evidence that tort reform leads to lower malpractice insurance rates. Americans for Insurance Reform says that tighter regulation is the key to lower rates.

For a copy of the complete article, contact AIR.