Another medical malpractice reform success story, as the biggest malpractice insurer in Arkansas will not raise insurance rates for the first time in many years. The company cites the medical malpractice reform bill passed three years ago as the reason. Add Arkansas to the lsit of states who have passed medical malpractice reform which has worked as advertised. The number of frivilous lawsuits has dropped, and malpractice premiums are stabilizing. And, both of those things will result in higher quality medical care in the state for everyone. (via Kevin MD)
Arkansas’ leading malpractice insurance carrier announced Wednesday that it won’t raise rates for the first time since the late 1990s, citing a 2003 law that limits civil damages in court cases.
However, the state Insurance Department said it was premature to draw conclusions about the effect of tort reform legislation adopted just three years ago.
“We haven’t seen a lot of (lawsuit) filings since the law went into effect. It’s just too early to tell if it has helped,” Insurance Department spokeswoman Charlye Woodard said.
The agency gave a similar assessment in an August report that was part of an annual legislative review of the Civil Justice Reform Act of 2003.
In a recent letter to Arkansas doctors, State Volunteer Mutual Insurance Co. said the decline in the number of malpractice claims across the state is largely due to new law limiting jury awards.
Chairman Paul McNabb said the company’s board decided recently that malpractice rates in Arkansas are adequate and would not be increased over the next year.
“As a partner of the Arkansas physicians, SVMIC is committed to respond to the favorable effect of tort reform with you …,” McNabb wrote in the April 24 letter. “While the average cost of malpractice claim in Arkansas continues to increase, this effect is fortunately offset by a decline in the frequency of such claims.”
Act 649 of 2003 placed a $1 million cap on punitive and non-economic damages, along with joint and several liability and venue reform. It also requires an affidavit of merit from a medical expert to be submitted by a plaintiff when a malpractice complaint is filed.
Brentwood, Tenn.-based State Volunteer Mutual raised its malpractice rates in Arkansas by 5.5 percent in 2005 and by 13.6 percent the previous year, according state Insurance Department’s annual report.
The insurance carrier provides coverage to more than 75 percent of Arkansas doctors who buy their own malpractice coverage, said David Wroten, vice president of the Arkansas Medical Society.
Wroten said between 1999 and 2005, malpractice premiums for State Volunteer Mutual customers had increased more than 200 percent. Currently, the frequency of malpractice lawsuits filed has declined from 12 to seven cases per 100 doctors, which has stabilized the market, he said.
“A lot of cases that use to get filed that didn’t have merit simply have not been filed,” Wroten said. (emphasis mine)
