Med-Mal Crisis Adding to Health Insurer Woes, A.M. Best Reports.Business Editors OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 29, 2002 Rising medical-malpractice insurance premiums for doctors and hospitals are adding to already budget-busting medical-cost inflation, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the special report, "The Impact of the Med-Mal Insurance Crisis on Health Insurers," released by A.M. Best Co. In Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (pĕnsəlvā`nyə), one of the Middle Atlantic states of the United States. It is bordered by New Jersey, across the Delaware River (E), Delaware (SE), Maryland (S), West Virginia (SW), Ohio (W), and Lake Erie and New York , doctors and hospitals are facing an availability and affordability crisis for medical-malpractice insurance coverage, with rates increasing approximately 70% during the past 12 months, driven by higher jury awards and competitive market conditions during the mid-to-late 1990s. As well, Phico Insurance Co.'s insolvency insolvency Condition in which liabilities exceed assets so that creditors cannot be paid. It is a financial condition that often precedes bankruptcy. In the context of equity, insolvency is the inability to pay debts as they become due; insolvency under the balance-sheet contributed to the decrease in available coverage in the Pennsylvania market, and St. Paul St. Paul as a missionary he fearlessly confronts the “perils of waters, of robbers, in the city, in the wilderness.” [N.T.: II Cor. 11:26] See : Bravery Cos.' market exit worsened the situation. Pennsylvania responded to the medical-malpractice crisis with legislation this year, including the Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error (MCare MCare Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error MCARE Mid-Atlantic Collaborative for Applied Research in Education ) Act, effective March 20; the Fair Share Act, effective June 19, and legislation eliminating venue shopping, signed Oct. 17. Highmark Inc. has felt the impact of the medical-malpractice crisis from both a provider's and an insurer's perspective. Employing 120 physicians through Alliance Ventures Inc., a series of primary-care centers throughout southwestern Pennsylvania, its medical-malpractice insurance premiums have increased 300% since 1997 for employed physicians, according to Anthony Cosentino, director of risk management, following years of underpricing Underpricing Issuing securities at less than their market value. underpricing The pricing of a new security issue at less than the prevailing price of the same security in the secondary market. Underpricing helps ensure a successful sale. in the late 1990s and 2000. The crisis also is impacting the way physicians practice medicine, causing some to practice defensive medicine to stem their liability. Thus, physicians are offering more prescription drugs prescription drug Prescription medication Pharmacology An FDA-approved drug which must, by federal law or regulation, be dispensed only pursuant to a prescription–eg, finished dose form and active ingredients subject to the provisos of the Federal Food, Drug, and ordering more diagnostic tests, which increases the utilization of health-care services and an insurer's expenses, he said. With the cost of health insurance increasing at an alarming rate, eventually, fewer subscribers will be able to afford health insurance under the current financing system. However, A.M. Best believes some change in the financing of health-care services is on the horizon. BestWeek subscribers can download To receive a file transmitted over a network. In any communications session, "download" means receive, and "upload" means send. The download/upload often implies a big/little scenario, in which data is being downloaded from the "big" server into the "little" user's computer. a free printed copy of the full four-page special report, "The Impact of the Med-Mal Insurance Crisis on Health Insurers," from our Web site, www.bestweek.com. Nonsubscribers can download a printed copy of the full four-page special report for $25 from our Web site, www.bestweek.com. A.M. Best Co., established in 1899, is the world's oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source. For more information, visit A.M. Best's Web site at www.ambest.com. |
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