Requests for medical malpractice insurance rate increases in Texas and California — two states that cap lawsuit awards — are proof that taking away the rights of wrongfully injured people does not result in lower premiums for doctors.
The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights that says the nation’s largest medical malpractice insurer, GE Medical Protective, admitted that medical malpractice caps on damage awards and other limitations on recoveries for injured patients will not lower physicians’ premiums.
Texas lawmakers were pressured into voting for a $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages. Now, the medical malpractice insurers are asking for a 19 percent rate hike on doctors in the Lone Star State. GE Medical Protective is also pushing for a rate hike in California – a state that has capped damage awards for three decades.
If caps are supposed to be the ‘magic bullet,’ then why are medical malpractice insurance rates going up? Why are doctors still claiming that they need more relief? This isn’t just a problem associated with caps being in place for a short while. California has had caps since the 1970’s, yet doctors there are facing a 29 percent rate hike.
This is just more proof that the problem is not medical malpractice awards – as GE Medical Protective admitted when they said that capping noneconomic damages only results in a one percent loss savings. One percent savings is not enough to balance out taking away the rights of wrongfully injured people to be fairly compensated.
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Requests for medical malpractice insurance rate increases in Texas and California — two states that cap lawsuit awards — are proof that taking away the rights of wrongfully injured people does not result in lower premiums for doctors.
The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights that says the nation’s largest medical malpractice insurer, GE Medical Protective, admitted that medical malpractice caps on damage awards and other limitations on recoveries for injured patients will not lower physicians’ premiums.
Texas lawmakers were pressured into voting for a $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages. Now, the medical malpractice insurers are asking for a 19 percent rate hike on doctors in the Lone Star State. GE Medical Protective is also pushing for a rate hike in California – a state that has capped damage awards for three decades.
If caps are supposed to be the ‘magic bullet,’ then why are medical malpractice insurance rates going up? Why are doctors still claiming that they need more relief? This isn’t just a problem associated with caps being in place for a short while. California has had caps since the 1970’s, yet doctors there are facing a 29 percent rate hike.
This is just more proof that the problem is not medical malpractice awards – as GE Medical Protective admitted when they said that capping noneconomic damages only results in a one percent loss savings. One percent savings is not enough to balance out taking away the rights of wrongfully injured people to be fairly compensated.
The Medical Protective document can be downloaded from: http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/insurance/rp/rp004689.pdf .