There is a wound that doctors in Ohio need help in healing. It is not a physical wound, but it is one that, if not treated quickly and effectively, could damage the long-term health of medical care in our state.

I am talking about the medical liability insurance crisis that is threatening to force doctors, particularly senior specialists, to consider leaving their medical practices or leaving the state for more favorable rates.

According to an Academy of Medicine/Northern Ohio Medical Association poll released this year, annual increases of 100 percent or more in medical liability insurance are not uncommon, and some are even more incredible. For example, a local cardiology group’s annual premiums went up 220% from $40,000 in 2000 to $128,000 in 2001, and local radiology practice’s premiums increased 233%.

That kind of staggering increase in overhead would seriously hurt any small enterprise…and if it is not addressed by the Ohio legislature, it will adversely affect how you and your family will be cared for and the price you will pay for that care.

What has caused this dramatic increase in premiums?

Primarily, it’s the proliferation of frivolous law suits filed against doctors and the cost to defend against them. According to the Physician Insurers Association of America, nearly 70% of the cases brought against physicians do not result in a payment to the plaintiff. Only 1.3% of all claims made against a physician actually result in a jury award. But in 2000, the median cost to dispose of a claim that went to a jury was more than $66,000, even when the defendant (physician) was found not guilty.

The three leading insurers in Ohio have an expected increase range of between 30-60% with more increases expected in 2003. One major carrier in our region is no longer renewing any existing policies and this carrier and two others have stopped accepting new business. Medical liability insurers can’t afford to continue the coverage, driving some from writing coverage at all, and the rest to raise their premiums sky high.

Since doctors are required to carry medical liability insurance to practice in Ohio, there is the rub.

How can doctors stay in practice when they can’t buy insurance or they can’t afford the insurance that is available? They can’t.

Around the country, many doctors are either retiring early or getting out of those high-risk specialties that draw so many lawsuits - obstetrics, radiology, and cancer specialists, to name a few. Doctors are being forced to reduce their staff or postpone buying new equipment to save money. In addition, medical schools are not graduating the high numbers of new physicians as in the past, which will lead to a growing shortage of physicians. Some physicians are considering moving out of state, while others are being more selective in seeing new patients.

The bottom line is that this situation is impacting the quality of care, as doctors are forced to practice defensive medicine by ordering more tests or seeing more patients to offset revenue losses, and spending less time per patient. The patient-doctor relationship is eroding, and it is time to do something before the crisis reaches epidemic proportions.

Forty-six other states have faced their medical liability problems head-on by enacting lawsuit abuse reforms. Twenty-one of those states cap the amount of money that injured patients can receive in "non-economic" awards (for pain and suffering). Twenty-nine have provisions for physicians to pay out jury awards over time rather than in a lump sum. And 21 put limits on the personal injury lawyers’ share of settlements and awards.

We need to reform – not abolish – medical liability laws. Reasonable laws that protect patients should be in place. But abuse of the system with frivolous lawsuits and unreasonable jury verdicts has financially strained our health care systems as doctors and hospitals struggle with outlandish insurance premiums. Even if remedies are found to improve the current insurance climate, there must be meaningful reform of the liability laws in Ohio in order to continue to provide patients with access to quality health care.

We urge your support of meaningful tort reform laws in Ohio.

Sincerely

Kevin T. Geraci, M.D.

President