Holden to probe rise in rates for malpractice insurance

Gov. Bob Holden told a group of area doctors Monday he is upset that Missouri physicians are seeing malpractice insurance rates skyrocket while claims and payouts continue to drop.

"I am looking for an explanation for these rate increases, and I will get to the bottom of it," Holden said during remarks made Monday night at a meeting of the Cape Girardeau County Area Medical Society. "In the end, patients pay for these costs, and the quality of health care in our state suffers."

Holden called for a public hearing to be held Oct. 30 after reviewing the Missouri Department of Insurance's annual medical malpractice insurance report.

The hearing is scheduled for 1 to 4 p.m. at the Truman State Office Building in Jefferson City. Insurers, physicians, plaintiffs' attorneys and trade groups are being invited to testify on the issue.

"I know how hard you work and how close to the margins you are," Holden said during his 20-minute speech at the Royal N'Orleans restaurant.

The 2001 MDI Medical Malpractice Report, to be released today, shows losses paid on claims against Missouri doctors fell to the lowest level since 1994.

The number of claims filed against both hospitals and doctors also dropped in 2001, the report says. Claims against hospitals fell 4 percent, and claims against doctors dropped 37 percent.

Smaller awards

Furthermore, of claims that were closed against doctors in 2001, economic-damage award amounts -- the dollars a jury awards to a plaintiff -- fell by 8 percent, and "pain and suffering" award amounts fell by more than 10 percent.

Holden said with claims and award amounts going down, insurance premiums should be dropping with them.

"The market data doesn't show any conditions in Missouri that would warrant the kind of premium increases and availability problems that I'm hearing from the state's doctors," he said.

The report focuses solely on Missouri's medical malpractice market, but Missouri's law allows insurance companies to base their rates on losses nationally rather than just on the state's doctors and other health-care providers.

"Our doctors appear to bear the brunt now as states elsewhere are seeing surges in claims and payouts," Holden said.

Holden pointed to a recent Missouri State Medical Association survey that shows doctors are reporting premiums that have doubled recently, especially for riskier specialties like neurosurgeons, orthopedic surgeons and obstetrician-gynecologists.

The survey shows that 582 respondents averaged a premium increase of almost 100 percent in the past two years. Holden said that means doctors are working harder for less return. He said he fears that could cause doctors to move to where claims aren't as high. That would hurt accessibility.

"I'm from Birch Tree, and it's impossible to get a doctor to go there," he said. "You probably have a little easier time in Cape, but it might not stay that way."

'In a bad position'

Area doctors agreed that malpractice insurance rates have gotten ridiculously high.

Dr. Janna Tuck, a pediatric allergist in Cape Girardeau, said her practice has seen a significant increase in malpractice insurance premiums.

"In some areas, it's so expensive to pay premiums, the doctors are no longer making money," she said. "Those doctors have to leave. They can't afford to practice in those areas."

Family practice physician Dr. Byron Glenn of Cape Girardeau said he saw his malpractice insurance jump by 80 percent last year, despite the fact that he's never had a lawsuit filed against him in his 15 years of practice.

"They keep saying this is a litigious society," Glenn said. "All they'll tell me is that everyone's is going up, but that's not a very good reason. We're in a bad position, because we have to stay in practice, so what are you going to do? All we can do is pay it."

smoyers@semissourian.com

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