Medical Malpractice Insurance Problems Due to Economic Cycle
January 31, 2003 — The medical malpractice insurance
crisis in West Virginia is caused by the economic cycle, and not by excessive lawsuits, according to a
recent
report by the consumer group Public Citizen. Frequent medical errors
and a lack of doctor oversight increase costs and threaten the quality
of health care in West Virginia, the report concludes.
The study found that:
- The cost of medical negligence to West Virginia’s patients
is high, especially when measured against the cost of malpractice insurance
to West Virginia’s doctors.
- Government data show that the median amount of medical malpractice
awards in West Virginia has decreased, even as the cost of health insurance
has increased.
- Large malpractice verdicts in West Virginia are decreasing.
- At the height of the purported malpractice “crisis,” the
number of licensed physicians in West Virginia actually increased slightly.
- “Repeat offender” physicians are responsible for the bulk
of malpractice costs. About 9.3 percent of doctors who have paid multiple
malpractice claims are responsible for 62.2 percent of all payments.
- Repeat offender doctors suffer few consequences in West Virginia.
Only 25.5 percent of those doctors who made five or more malpractice
payments were disciplined by West Virginia’s State Board of Medicine;
only 14.3 percent of doctors who made 10 or more malpractice payments
were disciplined.
- Insurance costs are increasing overall, not just for malpractice.
The spike in medical liability premiums was caused by the insurance
cycle, not by “skyrocketing” malpractice awards.
- Insurer mismanagement compounded the problems. For example, under
priced premiums, reckless cash–flow policies, and ill–fated
involvement with Enron and asbestos subsidiaries forced one major
carrier to stop offering
medical malpractice insurance.
“If medical boards are unwilling or unable to seriously discipline
doctors with multiple malpractice payouts, the terrible human and financial
costs will continue to lead to preventable deaths and injuries,” commented
Public
Citizen President Joan Claybrook. “These repeat offenders are
a significant factor in the malpractice situation facing the state today.”
Similar Analysis of Medical Malpractice Problems in Arkansas
In another recent study, Public Citizen concluded that the medical malpractice
“crisis” in Arkansas, as in West Virginia and the rest of the
country, is not a long–term problem nor has it been caused by the legal
system (Medical
Misdiagnosis in Arkansas, January 27, 2003). Rather, it is a short–term
problem triggered by a brief spike in medical malpractice insurance rates
for some physicians, according to the group.
Highlights of the Arkansas Public Citizen report include:
- Arkansas doctor’s liability premiums are among the lowest in
the nation.
- Government data shows that large malpractice award payments have been
the rare exception in Arkansas.
- Government data show that malpractice payments in Arkansas have increased
at a slower pace than national medical costs.
- Arkansas’ cumulative median malpractice payment has remained
less than the national average.
- The number of Arkansas malpractice lawsuits filed in 2002 was less
than in the preceding years.
- The number of doctors in Arkansas has been increasing.
- As in the case of West Virginia, repeat offender physicians are responsible
for the bulk of malpractice costs, but suffer few consequences.
California Caps on Damages Have Not Lowered Premiums
In California, caps on damages in medical malpractice cases have not
accomplished the goal of lower insurance premiums (see Medical
Malpractice Fibs and Facts, Consumer Attorneys of California). Instead,
premiums have steadily risen since the 1975 enactment of the $250,000
non–economic
damages cap under the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA).
The effect of the California damage cap has been to deny individual
victims of medical malpractice the chance to receive adequate damages
based on the unique facts of their cases. The fallout from medical malpractice
to a family is not a “one–size–fits–all” circumstance.
Solutions to the Medical Malpractice Problems
According to Public Citizen, the solution to the medical malpractice
insurance problem lies in reducing medical errors. In addition to effective
doctor discipline, states should require hospitals and other health care
providers to institute meaningful risk prevention programs. Hospitals
should implement measures to curb errors, such as using computers to order
and track prescriptions, addressing the nursing shortage, and reducing
the long hours of medical residents. Also, insurance risk should be spread,
reducing the number of classifications of doctor specialties.
For more information from Public Citizen about solutions to medical malpractice
problems, see Doctors,
Insurers Wrong About Medical Malpractice Crisis. If you have suffered
a medical injury and believe you were the victim of medical negligence,
please feel free to contact us
at Brayton Purcell concerning
your legal options. We have almost 20 years of experience in the medical
malpractice field.
 Print
this page
|
