A skilled pickpocket does not just take your wallet; he directs your attention elsewhere. When you notice you have been robbed, you blame someone else.
Insurance companies and their industry spokespeople are similarly skilled at misdirection. Doctors are understandably angry about the high price of malpractice insurance premiums – and patients are angry about the high cost of health care – at a time when insurance companies are reaping enormous profits. But lest this anger be directed at the insurers themselves, and result in action to regulate the insurance industry, spokespersons for the industry are quick to point the finger somewhere else. High premiums, they say, are the result of too many lawsuits and “skyrocketing” medical malpractice payouts. The problem with this argument? Medical malpractice payouts have actually decreased in recent years.
Diederich Healthcare's analysis of data from the National Practitioner Data Bank showed that medical malpractice payouts nationwide decreased substantially from 2003, when they approached $5 billion, to 2013, when total payouts were approximately $3.7 billion. The 2013 figure actually represents a slight increase from 2012, but in many states, payouts continued to drop. That includes Illinois, where payouts decreased by $28 million from 2012 to 2013, even as Chicago area doctors continue to pay some of the highest medical malpractice insurance premiums in the country.
Those high premiums contribute to record profits for insurance companies. ISMIE Mutual Insurance, the largest medical malpractice insurance carrier in Illinois, made a record $80 million profit in 2013, up 40 percent from the previous year, which was already a record-setting year for the company. According to a report from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, medical malpractice insurance has twice the return on net worth for insurance companies than property and casualty insurance.
Even as insurance companies are flooded with profits, they claim that a “lawsuit crisis” is driving up malpractice premiums. The fact is, both the number of medical malpractice claims and the amount of payouts are stable. More importantly, medical malpractice lawsuits are filed by injured people who are the victims of preventable medical errors, and they deserve compensation. The way to reduce the number of lawsuits is to prevent medical mistakes. Injured patients are not the cause of high insurance premiums. Doctors and patients alike should seek to reduce the high cost of health care by supporting reform of the insurance industry, including greater transparency and increased competition.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Paul Greenberg
Paul Greenberg is the co-managing member of the law firm of Briskman Briskman & Greenberg, where he represents injured individuals in personal injury and workers’ compensation claims.
Copyright Briskman Briskman & Greenberg
More information about Briskman Briskman & Greenberg
Diederich Healthcare's analysis of data from the National Practitioner Data Bank showed that medical malpractice payouts nationwide decreased substantially from 2003, when they approached $5 billion, to 2013, when total payouts were approximately $3.7 billion. The 2013 figure actually represents a slight increase from 2012, but in many states, payouts continued to drop. That includes Illinois, where payouts decreased by $28 million from 2012 to 2013, even as Chicago area doctors continue to pay some of the highest medical malpractice insurance premiums in the country.
Those high premiums contribute to record profits for insurance companies. ISMIE Mutual Insurance, the largest medical malpractice insurance carrier in Illinois, made a record $80 million profit in 2013, up 40 percent from the previous year, which was already a record-setting year for the company. According to a report from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, medical malpractice insurance has twice the return on net worth for insurance companies than property and casualty insurance.
Even as insurance companies are flooded with profits, they claim that a “lawsuit crisis” is driving up malpractice premiums. The fact is, both the number of medical malpractice claims and the amount of payouts are stable. More importantly, medical malpractice lawsuits are filed by injured people who are the victims of preventable medical errors, and they deserve compensation. The way to reduce the number of lawsuits is to prevent medical mistakes. Injured patients are not the cause of high insurance premiums. Doctors and patients alike should seek to reduce the high cost of health care by supporting reform of the insurance industry, including greater transparency and increased competition.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Paul Greenberg
Paul Greenberg is the co-managing member of the law firm of Briskman Briskman & Greenberg, where he represents injured individuals in personal injury and workers’ compensation claims.
Copyright Briskman Briskman & Greenberg
More information about Briskman Briskman & Greenberg
No comments:
Post a Comment