On October 1, the House Government Reform Subcommittee on Human Rights and Wellness heard testimony on the rising cost of medical liability insurance.
A study released by the American Medical Association (AMA) noted that 12 states are in a medical liability crisis, and another 30 states are headed in that direction. Between 1994 and 2001, the typical malpractice award increased by 176 percent to an average of $1 million per court case. The result has been enormously expensive malpractice insurance premiums for health care providers.
In a press release announcing the hearing, Chair Dan Burton (R-IN) stated, “Outrageously high medical malpractice insurance premium rates have caused many doctors who offer life-saving services to relocate, change specialties, or retire from their practices altogether.”
Dr. John Nelson, an obstetrician-gynecologist (ob-gyn) and President-elect of the AMA, stated that many ob-gyns and family physicians “have stopped delivering babies, and some advanced and high-risk procedures (such as neurosurgery) are being postponed because physicians can no longer afford or even find the liability insurance they need to practice.” In his testimony, Dr. Nelson denounced a recent General Accounting Office (GAO) report on the medical liability crisis in the United States, which concluded that problems with patients’ access to care are not widespread. He pointed out that the GAO relied on Medicare claims data to examine fluctuations in the utilization of medical services. “Medicare data are inadequate to identify changes in obstetric services because a vast majority of Medicare eligible beneficiaries are beyond reproductive age,” he argued.
In March, the House approved legislation (H.R. 5) that would limit non-economic medical malpractice awards (see The Source, 3/14/03), but the Senate has not yet acted on the bill.
