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Malpractice strike
not likely here
Fed
up with high malpractice premiums, West Virginia doctors
have been walking off the job. Could the same thing
happen in the Old Dominion?
Not
likely, says Ann Hughes, legislative affairs director
of the Medical Society of Virginia. One reason for the
West Virginia protest was to force the state to restrict
settlements by plaintiffs suing doctors. Virginia, however,
already has a cap on how much a plaintiff can win at
trial — currently $1.65 million, rising to $2 million
in 2008. Virginia’s cap was $1 million until 1999,
when lobbyists for the state’s trial lawyers and
doctors agreed to back a General Assembly bill for the
gradual increase. “I don’t think we’re
anywhere near as troubled as West Virginia is,”
Hughes says. “We made some right decisions …
which has helped put us in [a] relatively stable environment.”
The
fear of high-dollar jury awards helps drive up rates,
critics say. One West Virginia physician says his premium
doubled this year to $73,000 and could top $100,000
next year. Only a handful of states have caps; in some
states caps have been ruled unconstitutional.
Not
all blame high jury verdicts for the problem. Despite
the physician protest, a legislative panel in West Virginia
refused to recommend any limits on damage awards and
instead blamed insurers for not offering affordable
coverage. Other critics say the insurance industry is
hiking rates to make up for its weak investments, not
because of unreasonable damage awards.
There’s
no data on premium hikes for Virginia doctors —
it varies by specialty with obstetricians, surgeons
and emergency room doctors usually paying the most.
Nationwide, the American Medical Association says a
dozen states face problems similar to West Virginia,
which has no malpractice award cap.
Virginia
Business - February 2003
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