Medical Malpractice Insurance Companies Mislead the Public

Jane Schneider

Contributor

0 CommentsPrint ArticleSubscribe

A report released May 24, 2007 reveals that medical malpractice insurers have been price-gouging doctors through inflated and excessive premiums and needlessly contributing to the higher costs of healthcare. The study was written by former Missouri Insurance Commissioner Jay Angoff and was based on annual reports from the top 15 medical malpractice insurance companies rated by A.M. Best. These insurers artificially raised doctors' malpractice premiums misleading the public by asserting that a so-called "malpractice crisis" exists.

The study demonstrates the difference between two type of losses in the insurance industry, which are incurred losses and paid losses. The insurance industry evaluates its performance based on incurred losses and not paid losses. Incurred losses include projected future losses. Paid losses are losses which are actual claims payments. The study shows that both paid and incurred losses have decreased; however, at the same time, malpractice rates for doctors continue to increase. All the while, the insurance industry has been banging its drum that there is some type of medical malpractice crisis in America. Insurance companies have been increasing the cost of healthcare, by price-gouging doctors through excessive premiums, while simultaneously advocating against the rights of people injured or killed as a result of medical malpractice.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Medical Malpractice and Negligent Care.