Ads Press Frist Over Malpractice Suits
News-Leader (Springfield, MO)
May 13, 2003

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Rising medical malpractice insurance premiums nationwide are causing upheaval in the lives of doctors and their patients. Facing premiums that rose 10 percent to 100 percent in Missouri, more doctors are dropping high-risk procedures, screening patients for liability risk, closing independent practices for the shelter of larger employers, retiring early or moving to states where premiums remain affordable -- at least for now.

Though the crunch hasn't pushed southwest Missouri's doctors to the brink, some fear continually rising rates will lead more to simply walk away from their specialties, shrinking the pool of qualified physicians.

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Of all the tort reform measures, attorneys strongly oppose the $350,000 cap on non-economic damage awards, or "pain and suffering," saying it won't moderate claims but will hurt retirees, people who don't work and children who aren't eligible for economic-damage awards.

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Some predict caps will slow the rate at which premiums are increasing, but few -- including insurers -- expect tort reforms to lower premiums.

It didn't happen after California's tort overhaul in 1975, and there are contradictory reports about whether those reforms helped control premiums at all.

In July 2002, Nevada enacted a $350,000 cap on noneconomic damages for injured patients. Within weeks, according to advocacy group Americans for Insurance Reform, two major insurance companies announced that, despite the new law, they would not reduce insurance rates for the foreseeable future.

For a copy of the complete article, contact AIR.