Re: Medmal-News Release from AIR
From: art fougner, md (evsono@pipeline.com)
Thu Oct 10 17:12:28 2002
so insurance chicanery is responsible for 80 million dollar judgements
or wrongful life suits that even some states don't recognize validity.
there are three sides to this coin therefore all three sides need to sit
together and fix it.
just my opinion - i could be wrong.
art
At Thu, 10 Oct 2002, RModugno@aol.com wrote:
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>Food for thought!
>
>Robert Modugno MD MBA FACOG
>Marietta, GA
>http://www.novaobgyn.yourmd.com
>
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>Date: Thu, 10 Oct 2002 14:17:22 -0400
>From: Robinzodoc@aol.com
>To: cburton@pol.net, rmodugno@aol.com
>Subject: Fwd: FW: News Release from AIR
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>from my trial lawyer cousin...
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>Subject: FW: News Release from AIR
>Date: Thu, 10 Oct 2002 10:43:52 -0400
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>From: "Gordon, Robert" <RGordon@weitzlux.com>
>To: "Zelikovic, Allan" <AZelikovic@weitzlux.com>,
> "Ron Schwartz" <Ronald_Schwartz@urmc.rochester.edu>,
> "Michael Robinowitz" <Robinzodoc@aol.com>,
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>To my health-care friends and family.
>
>Rob
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Joanne Doroshow [mailto:jdoro@pipeline.com]
>Sent: Thursday, October 10, 2002 10:09 AM
>Subject: News Release from AIR
>
>Americans for Insurance Reform News Release
>
>For Immediate Release
>October 10, 2002
>
>Contact:
>J. Robert Hunter, 703/528-0062
>Joanne Doroshow, 917/548-5263 (cell); 212/267-2801
>
>NEW STUDY REFUTES INSURANCE INDUSTRY'S EXPLANATION
>FOR RISING MEDICAL MALPRACTICE RATES
>
>NEW YORK - Americans for Insurance Reform (AIR), a coalition of nearly 100 consumer and public interest groups representing more than 50 million peopl , announced today the release of a comprehensive study of medical malpracti e. The study refutes the insurance industry's explanation for rising medic l malpractice rates and undermines industry claims that a medical malpracti e "crisis" for insurers exists (the entire study is available at http://www insurance-reform.org).
>
>The AIR study makes two specific findings: First, over the last 30 years, edical malpractice payouts have directly tracked the rate of medical inflat on; and second, over the same period, insurance premium rates have not trac ed payouts at all (e.g. jury verdicts, settlements, etc.), but instead dire tly follow the ups and downs of the economy.
>
>One of the study's major findings shows that the amount of money that medic l malpractice insurers have paid out, including all jury awards and settlem nts, directly reflects the rates of medical inflation. The study finds tha there has been no explosion in medical malpractice payouts at any time dur ng the last 30 years, as payments in constant dollars have been extremely s able and virtually flat since the mid-1980s.
>
>The second major finding of the study is that for the last 30 years, insura ce premiums increased and decreased in direct relationship to the state of he economy, and not in response to insurance policy payouts. When the econ my is strong and the insurance industry's market investments are gaining, m dical malpractice rates decrease. On the other hand, when the economy is w ak, as it has been since the second half of 2000, the insurance industry's arket investments losing, while medical malpractice insurance rates increas .
>
>These findings suggest that the real reason medical malpractice insurance r tes fluctuate is market forces - not, as the insurance industry claims, bec use of a sudden massive increase in medical malpractice jury awards.
>
>"These data together constitute a 'smoking gun,' which should, once and for all end the debate about the cause of these periodic medical malpractice cr ses," said the author of the study, J. Robert Hunter, Director of Insurance for the Consumer Federation of America, former Texas Insurance Commissioner and AIR co-founder. "Insurers, whose own investment actions have created a 'crisis' in insurance affordability and availability, are blaming others fo their own mismanagement by manufacturing a crisis for policyholders that s mply should not exist. By increasing rates, insurers are forcing hospitals doctors, and ultimately patients, to suffer for their poor business and in estment decisions."
>
>The findings of AIR's study come at a crucial time, as the nation's insuran e companies are in the process of advancing a legislative agenda to limit l ability for doctors, hospitals, HMOs, nursing homes and drug companies that cause injury. Insurance companies are blaming high rates on the increase i claims by patients, rising verdicts and exploding tort system costs when i reality, it is the insurance industry's efforts to make up for their econo y-driven, market-based investment losses that are the cause.
>
>--
>Joanne Doroshow, Executive Director of the Center for Justice & Democracy a d AIR co-founder, said "For far too long, the insurance industry has been e gaged in a pricing scheme designed to gouge the American people based on a remise that lacks any basis in fact. Moreover, the insurance industry has een lobbying Congress for changes in the law designed to limit a consumer's legal rights by publicly putting out wrong and misleading information. The e needs to be a serious investigation into the kinds of shenanigans the ins rance industry has been engaging in when it comes to medical malpractice."
>
> The full study can be found at http://insurance-reform.org
>
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--
art fougner, md
ich bin ein New Yorker
