He has said that «there is too much money on the table» in medical malpractice cases, which, he contends, drives up the cost
of malpractice insurance premiums and health care overall.
Not exact matches
The reciprocal insurer holds assets and liabilities, while the management company makes its money by selling
malpractice insurance, and taking a percentage cut
of the resulting
premiums.
However, the defendant's lawyers argued that state lawmakers included the possibility
of retroactivity in the 2003 law because it was dealing with a medical
malpractice «crisis» that was driving up
insurance premiums for Florida doctors.
«A new study by Dartmouth College researchers, published May 31 by the journal Health Affairs and reported yesterday in The Boston Globe, says that increases in doctors»
insurance premiums are the result not
of medical
malpractice lawsuits, but
of insurers» poor investments...»
They also pay tremendous
insurance premiums and have resources devoted to vigorously and successfully defending themselves against charges
of medical
malpractice.
Because
malpractice insurance for lawyers is not mandatory in the U.S. (except in the state
of Oregon), LAWPRO has been at the forefront
of research into coverage models, claims trend analysis,
premium setting, and many other aspects
of insurance administration.
The underlying policy is that not having to defend against frivolous lawsuits will translate into suppressing the cost
of medical
malpractice litigation, which would in turn lower the cost
of the medical
malpractice insurance premiums charged to healthcare providers and so on up the chain.
In fact, California's medical
malpractice insurance industry has become so bloated due to this cap, that «as little as 2 or 3 percent
of premiums are used to pay claims» and «the state's biggest medical
malpractice insurer, Napa - based The Doctors Company, spent only 10 percent
of the $ 179 million collected in
premiums on claims in 2009.»
Savings from caps have led to huge
insurance industry profits, which «the
insurance industry should pass... onto Florida physicians in the form
of reduced
malpractice insurance premiums, and it should no longer be necessary to continue punishing those most seriously injured by medical negligence by limiting their noneconomic recovery to a fixed, arbitrary amount.»
We've frequently discussed the actual drivers behind high medical
malpractice premiums for doctors, as well as the reasons behind climbing health
insurance premiums and the costs
of medical care and tests (please see the related posts linked below for more information).
One study
of leading medical
malpractice insurance companies» financial statements found that the insurers artificially raise doctors»
premiums and mislead the public about the nature
of medical negligence claims.
To critics, non-econ caps are both ineffective (since they will not lower
malpractice premiums or the cost
of health
insurance coverage) and unfair (since they reduce damage awards to the most severely injured, and disproportionately affect women, children, and the elderly).