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The Business of Health Care Report
Texas Insurance Commissioner Jose Montemayor predicts at least 6,000
physicians will be without malpractice insurance in the next 12 months as carriers flee the market. Only four insurers are
now writing policies, down from 17 carriers at the end of 1999. That's bad news for doctors who will be denied credentials
to practice medicine at most hospitals if they are unable to obtain malpractice insurance. More claims and larger damage awards are a big portion of the insurance
crisis, accompanied by underperforming investments and premium miscalculations. Nearly the entire increase in claims frequency
is occurring in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, where the number of claims filed is growing at a rate of 60 percent per year. The medical malpractice crisis has now become a crisis of access to health
care for Texas patients. Physicians in some areas have stopped delivering babies or responding to emergency calls because of
the potential liability. Many areas of Texas are already short on physicians, especially family doctors and specialties serving
the most acute of diagnoses. Delaying care is harmful to patients, makes the condition more expensive to treat and can place
more stress on the state's indigent care programs. Governor Rick Perry recently proposed capping "pain and suffering" awards
in medical malpractice lawsuits at $250,000 and creating special courts to hear the cases. Perry also suggested expanding the
insurance commissioner's ability to regulate rates and reduce unfair premium increases. As lawmakers look at the issue, they need to keep in mind that patient safety,
quality of care and access to care should be the top priorities. No one wants to see a step backward for patient care. For Texas Health Resources
and its family of hospitals - Harris Methodist Hospitals, Presbyterian
Healthcare System and Arlington Memorial Hospital - I'm CEO Doug
Hawthorne with "The Business of Health Care Report" on NewsRadio
1080 KRLD.
Sources: Pearlman interview, MCGMA ©
2002 Texas Health Resources |
I'm Doug Hawthorne, President and CEO of Texas Health Resources, with
"The Business of Health Care Report" on 