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Some doctors get break on insuranceFrom: GIN11153@aol.comMon Dec 25 00:24:41 2006
URL: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/health_care/article/0,2808,DRMN_25396_5176409,00.htmlSome doctors get break on insurance State's malpractice rates, flat in 2006, to decline in 2007 By Bill Scanlon, Rocky Mountain News November 29, 2006 Overall malpractice insurance premiums for Colorado's doctors are flat or declining slightly. After years of skyrocketing premiums - neurosurgeons were paying $71,000 a year, emergency-room doctors $18,000 - the rates went up just about 2.9 percent for 2006. Tuesday, the Doctor's Co., a liability insurer that is the second-biggest in Colorado, announced its rates will drop on average of 6.7 percent for 2007. And COPIC, which insures four out of five Colorado doctors, said the average doctor will see no increase for 2007, although some specialties will see small increases and others will see small decreases. Insurers credit two recent laws passed by the state legislature. One limits the amount of punitive damages for things such as disfigurement to a maximum of $300,000. It still allows full compensation for medical bills and time missed from work. The other law is probably more important, say insurance companies. It allows doctors to sit down with family members and explain what went wrong. That face-to-face open communication is important to families, and more often than not it rids them of the desire to sue, they say. COPIC also has come up with another approach that has proven successful, said legislative consultant George Dikeou. He echoes the importance of doctors and family members talking together. "There is a need for the physician and patient to communicate clearly with one another, to defuse miscommunication or confusion that can escalate a situation no one intended." Cathy Lindquist-Kleisser is executive director of the Denver Medical Society, which has 1,600 members, many of whom are insured by the physician-owned Doctor's Co. She credits the drop in premiums to doctors "working very hard to make sure they are providing quality care to patients," as well as to the laws passed by the Colorado legislature. While the savings might not be passed on directly to consumers, "keeping the price of providing medical care as low as possible translates into making it more affordable. And it does increase access." The cost of practicing medicine Average malpractice increases in Colorado: 2001 2.7 percent 2002 6.7 percent 2003 14.2 percent 2004 13.8 percent 2005 15.9 percent 2006 2.9 percent 2007 -6.7 percent* * Estimate Sources: Copic Insurance Co., The Doctor's Co. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Gail Neuman RNC CPHW SNP LNC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ student nurse practitioner and student midwife ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ certified high risk OB/legal nurse consultant Perinatal Nurse Associates Notary Public/Certified Loan Signing Agent PrePaid Legal Sales Associate Santa Ana, CA
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