Med Mal Suits Hike Costs
To The Editor:
J. Robert Hunter, director of insurance for the Consumer Federation of America, is at it again. As usual, he is trying to make the data fit what he believes, rather than the reality of the situation–this time on medical malpractice. (See "Consumer Advocate Challenges Insurers on the Crisis' in Med Mal Mkt.," Oct. 7, page 10.)
However, the true disservice he does with his faulty logic–not only to insurers but to the medical community and consumers–is to turn attention away from the true solution to the problem, which is tort reform. While he is correct in identifying a hardening insurance market, his complete dismissal of the meteoric rise in medical malpractice claim costs makes one wonder[whether] he is simply unaware of what has happened to the size of awards in medical malpractice lawsuits.
As an organization that has been monitoring the medical malpractice crisis nationally, the Alliance of American Insurers is concerned that Mr. Hunter may misunderstand the nature and extent of the problems faced by insurers. The current situation has not been caused by insurers. Rather, many of the issues of affordability and availability are caused by general economics and the regulatory environment insurers operate under.
According to Jury Verdict Research, an independent organization in Horsham, Pa., the size of the median medical malpractice jury award rose to $1 million in 2000–a 110 percent jump from 1996. In addition, a recent study by the Chicago-based American Medical Association points out that jury awards rose 43 percent in one year–from $700,000 in 1999 to $1 million in 2000.
So, you see, the cost of litigation is one of the leading causes of the medical malpractice crisis. Thankfully, several states–including Nevada, Pennsylvania and, most recently, Mississippi–are putting into place measures aimed at preventing opportunists from profiting at the expense of the medical community and consumers.
These states have taken steps toward common-sense proposals that will help provide the meaningful reform necessary for a long-term solution to the medical malpractice crisis, while maintaining the integrity of the civil justice system.
Sarah White
Property-Casualty Policy Manager
Alliance of American Insurers
Downers Grove, Ill.
Reproduced from National Underwriter Property & Casualty/Risk & Benefits Management Edition, November 11, 2002. Copyright 2002 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.
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