The top insurance regulator in Texas says Proposition 12, a constitutional amendment that limits noneconomic damages for doctors in medical malpractice cases to $250,000, has "stabilized" insurance premiums and triggered renewed competition.
In a letter earlier this month to the Texas Medical Association, Jose Montemayor, commissioner of the Texas Department of Insurance, said 10 carriers have "recently taken concrete steps to enter" the marketplace since voters approved the measure last September.
Despite this trend toward increased competition, however, only one of the five major insurers in the state has agreed to lower rates. What's more, the commissioner noted, General Electric Medical Protective, one of the state's largest medical malpractice insurers, will increase premiums by 10% on June 1, transferring its business to an unregulated risk-purchasing group that does not require state approval for premium hikes.
***AMC/NOMA members take note: In Ohio there is a resolution that calls for a similar constitutional amendment in Ohio. House Joint Resolution 15 calls for a constitutional amendment to allow the Ohio General Assembly to determine the limits of liability for all non-economic damages and losses in a civil action upon a medical, dental, optometric or chiropractic claim. The limits would be placed upon damages such as pain and suffering, mental anguish, and loss of enjoyment in a claim against a health care provider for medical negligence. Economic damages, such as lost earnings, medical care and rehabilitation costs will not be limited.
The resolution is modeled after a resolution in Texas noted above which called for an amendment to their state constitution and was recently narrowly passed and enacted. The initiative needs a three-fifths vote in both houses of the Ohio General Assembly and then the issue would be brought to the ballot for a vote.
The AMC/NOMA supports Ohio House Joint Resolution 15.