Here is a pretty interesting story from Illinois: Malpractice insurer to pay $11 million to health-care providers. Those who favored (and successfully lobbied for) tort reform, think this is evidence that the new system is working. Others are interpreting things differently:
Changes Illinois lawmakers made in 2005 to the state’s medical malpractice laws placed a $500,000 cap on non-economic damages paid by doctors when they are found liable in malpractice cases. Similarly, the law created a $1 million cap for hospitals. An injured patient’s economic damages — for medical care, lost wages and other costs — still are to be paid in full.
“There’s no magic or mystery about it,” Jensen said in announcing the dividends. “The reforms are working here, just as they’ve been proven effective in a host of other states.”
Advocates of the limits say they are needed to keep malpractice insurance rates affordable and to keep doctors and hospitals in business.
However, Bruce Kohen, president of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, which fought the caps, said the ISMIE dividends are a result of other parts of the malpractice insurance reforms.
The law also gave state regulators more authority to review malpractice insurance rates, a provision that was used to create the dividend requirement, Kohen said.
“While the Illinois State Medical Insurance Exchange seems to pat itself on the back for these dividend refunds, they mention nothing about the fact that they are doing it because the state Department of Insurance ordered them to do so,” Kohen said.
I’m not sure these two perspectives are really opposed to one another. Obviously, those favoring tort reform were fine with granting the Department of Insurance the power to order the payments. That too is just part of the state’s tort reform working.
Hat tip: Kevin MD
