Med-Mal Mayhem

Will medical malpractice problems initiate the industry’s crisis for 2003 in the way that mold mania swept Texas and many other states in 2002, creating havoc in the homeowners insurance market? If you read the headlines, it looks like the double whammy of high cost and low availability of medical professional liability insurance has the potential to cause plenty of distress in the healthcare industry. Certainly the med-mal crunch doesn’t hit home (pun intended) as directly as the mold crisis did, but since it affects the quality and availability of healthcare services across the country, it may have an impact on a greater number of people nationwide.

Are doctors just crying wolf? Governor Rick Perry doesn’t think so and has declared medical malpractice an emergency issue in the coming Texas legislative session. Perry previously attributed the malpractice insurance crisis to growing numbers of frivolous and abusive lawsuits, and escalating damage awards, settlements and legal expenses. Earlier this year Perry outlined a number of measures that he believes could help correct the situation. They include: tort reform that would cap non-economic losses to plaintiffs at $250,000 and limit personal injury trial lawyers’ fees; the creation of special courts or designation of special judges to hear medical malpractice claims; and expanding the ability of the Texas Department of Insurance to review insurance rates to ensure they are commensurate with losses.

Medical liability reform is the top priority for the 2003 session for the Texas Medical Association as well, which says that over 70 percent of the physicians it recently surveyed claimed skyrocketing medical liability premiums have caused them to increase “defensive medicine practices.” About 40 percent of the surveyed doctors are imposing new or tighter limits on the patients they will accept; nearly a third are reducing the types or kinds of services they provide; and almost a fourth said they are seeing difficulties recruiting or retaining physicians in their communities.

Texas is a long way from being the only state with medical malpractice woes. Surgeons at four West Virginia hospitals are taking month-long leaves of absence to protest the high cost of insurance. In Pennsylvania, a physician walkout was averted in late December by the last-minute proposals of Gov.-elect Ed Rendell to reform medical liability and help physicians and other healthcare professionals with the overwhelming costs they face. Doctors in Missouri are planning a rally at the state capitol on Jan. 29 to protest skyrocketing medical-liability costs and to lobby for legislative changes. And the Florida Hospital Association and the Coalition to Heal Healthcare in Florida are pushing hard for legislative fixes in that state. The groups say that Florida’s medical system is headed for a meltdown if something doesn’t happen soon, as the crisis is forcing hospitals across the state to stop offering or to curtail healthcare services.

Speaking of legislative fixes, the impending session of the Texas Legislature is expected to be insurance-heavy, and will definitely be an interesting one to watch. Those of us at the Insurance Journal will do our best to keep you informed as the session plays out.

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Topics Florida Texas