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Consumer group: Nation's largest med-mal insurer declares caps on damages don't work, raises docs' premiums
10-27-2004
The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, a non-profit advocacy group, reported on Oct. 25 that the nation's largest medical malpractice insurer, GE Medical Protective, has admitted that medical malpractice caps on damage awards and other limitations on recoveries for injured patients will not lower physicians' premiums.
According to a press release from the Foundation, the insurer's revelation was made to the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) in a regulatory filing obtained by FTCR. The revelation was contained in a document submitted by GE Medical Protective to explain why the insurer planned to raise physicians' premiums 19% a mere six months after Texas enacted caps on medical malpractice awards. According to the press release, in 2003, Texas lawmakers passed a $250,000 cap on non-economic damage compensation to victims of medical malpractice caps after Medical Protective and other insurers lobbied for the change.
According to the Medical Protective filing: "Non-economic damages are a small percentage of total losses paid. Capping non-economic damages will show loss savings of 1.0%." The company also notes that a provision in the Texas law allowing for periodic payments of awards would provide a savings of only 1.1%. The insurer did not even provide its doctors that relief and eventually imposed a rate hike on its physician policyholders.
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| Selected to the Top 100 List in Pennsylvania and the Top 100 List in Philadelphia in 2009 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers magazine |
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