Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt has signed into law a bill designed to lower physicians' medical malpractice premiums. The new law will allow the state's Department of Insurance to monitor the medical malpractice insurance industry and give the department more authority take action when malpractice rates are determined to be unfair or inadequate. In addition, the law now requires that insurance providers give physicians 60 days notice if a policy is going to be canceled or the premium amount changes. "The primary reason medical malpractice insurance costs are so high is excessive litigation," Blunt told the AP. "This is a positive step to help ensure that we have good data. It is a step we can take to control those costs."
Missouri legislators have been reining in malpractice rates as part of an effort to keep doctors from leaving Missouri for other states with lower premiums. Following the lead of several other states, the state put caps on the payout litigants can receive from lawsuits last year. It's worth noting, however, that the evidence is mixed as to whether such caps actually do reduce malpractice premiums. In some states where liability caps have been enacted, insurers have paid out less, but malpractice costs have continued to increase.
- for more background, see this Associated Press article
PLUS: An article published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine reported that in 40 percent of malpractice suits, no verifiable medical errors or injuries are found. The research, conducted by Harvard University, also concluded that 83 percent of physicians sued for malpractice are found not to be negligent. Article