Malpractice Claims, High Insurance Costs. Force Doctors To Shut Their Doors

mber of doctors are limiting the medial services they provide, or
leaving their practices altogether, for fear of malpractice lawsuits.
There are many in the medical field who believe America needs congress
to pass national legislation that will keep doctors in delivery rooms
and energency rooms, not courtrooms.

A growing number of doctors are limiting the medical services they
provide, or leaving their practices altogether, for fear of malpractice
lawsuits. That's because the increasingly large awards in malpractice
cases are translating into unaffordable insurance premiums for many
doctors and hospitals.

Even if doctors choose to stay in business, some are relocating to
states with laws that provide better malpractice protection. For
patients, this may mean not having access to the health care they need,
particularly in high-risk pregnancy or brain injury cases.

"It didn't really matter if I did anything wrong or how good a doctor I
was or how much time I spent with a patient or how much effort of myself
I gave," says Cara Simmonds, M.D., an obstetrician who ultimately
stopped practicing medicine after a pair of baseless malpractice claims
threatened to dramatically increase her insurance premiums. "It was all
a game and it doesn't measure your worth."

In many cases, the lawsuit has nothing to do with a doctor's ability.
Instead, the patient's family is looking for a way to cope with a tragedy.

Insurance Crisis

"The malpractice insurance crisis dates back to the early 1970s, when
the cost of claims soared and commercial medical liability insurance
companies tried to deal with the problem by raising doctors'
premiums-sometimes doubling or even tripling them."

In 1974, thousands of physicians faced the dual dilemma of not only
meeting the rising cost of rapidly increasing premiums, but also finding
a company willing to sell them this swiftly disappearing insurance
coverage. Doctors in many states took matters into their own hands,
creating their own professional liability companies. Today, these
doctor-owned and/or operated companies dominate the market, providing
protection to more than 60 percent of all physicians in the United
States, as well as dentists, hospitals and other health care providers.

There are many in the medical field who believe America needs Congress
to pass national legislation that will keep doctors in delivery rooms
and emergency rooms, not courtrooms.