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Show Increased Lawsuits and Larae Awards Create Medical Insurance Problem in Utah This Is the first of a series of six articles concerning the medical professional liability malpractice insurance problem prob-lem In Utah. The material was prepared by the Utah State Medical Association whose 1,375 practicing physicians make np 99 per cent of the nongovernment doctors in Utah. Everyone has heard of the "doctors' strikes" in California Califor-nia and New York and the problems they created in the medical-care field. But, what is the situation in Utah? "We have a definite problem prob-lem in Utah with the rising cost of doctors' and hospital's professional liability (malpractice) (malprac-tice) insurance. And, we must plan for the possibility that, some day, medical professional profession-al liability insurance simply may not be available," Dr. Howard G. ' Quarrie, president presi-dent of the Utah State Medical Association, said. "No doctor could be expected expect-ed to practice medicine without with-out medical liability insurance. Just one malpractice award against a physician without insurance could wipe out his life's work, and no one could . xpect a physician to take that kind of risk,"Dr. McQuarrie said. At present, approximately 85 per cent of Utah's doctors are covered by a group insurance policy issued thru the Utah State Medical Association. Assoc-iation. Most of the remaining 15 per cent carry medical liability insurance with several other insurance companies. Something New Less than six years ago, national figures show that only one out of every 23 physicians was faced with a medical" malpractice lawsuit. So far in 1975, one out of every six physicians has been confronted confront-ed with such a lawsuit. "The public has gone lawsuit happy," the legal counsel for the Utah State Medical Association told a recent meeting of the organization's organi-zation's House of Delegates. This tremendous increase in the number of patients who are bringing legal action against their doctors, combined combin-ed with what many persons consider to be unreasonable amounts of money being awarded by juries in some cases, has caused or may soon cause the cost of malpractice insurance for doctors to rise as much as 300 to 400 per cent. One Utah obstetrician, practicing prac-ticing in a semi-rural area, has had malpractice insurance premiums raised last May from $3,500 a year to $11,200 a year. At the same time, the average insurance rate for a Utah "family doctor" went from $1,700 a year to $6,000, according to USMA officials. More Raises Coming Aetna Insurance Co., which provides the group policy for the Utah Medical Assn., has indicated that doctors' insurance insur-ance premiums may soon rise again by 40 to 100 per cent. The problem, then, is that the recent increase in the number of medical malpractice lawsuits being brought against physicians and hospitals, coupled cou-pled with extremely large awards in some cases, has caused the insurance companies comp-anies to either raise their insurance rates dramatically or simply stop offering professional profes-sional liability insurance. Medical association officials offic-ials estimate that 8 to 10 insurance companies have withdrawn from the medical liability insurance business in Utah in the past five years. Much of this can be attributed to the fact that the vast majority of Utah physicians now are covered under the medical association's group policy, but some of the companies' hesitancy must stem from the recently increased in-creased costs and risks of offering the coverage. Raise Cost for AH Increased insurance costs to the doctors and hospitals raise the cost of medical care for all Utahns. If, at some future time, no company can be found who will insure the doctors at a reasonable rate, Utah's doctors may be forced out of practice. In Utah, the Legislature has assigned its Joint Committee on Social Services to study the medical professional liability insurance problem and legislation legis-lation aimed at stabilizing the situation will be introduced at the Legislature's Budget Session Ses-sion next January. A subcommittee of the Joint Committee on Social Services has already met and started taking testimony from interested inter-ested parties including the Utah State Medical Association Associa-tion and the Utah Hospital Association. Gov. Calvin L. Rampton also has named a citizens advisory committee on the problem. "The medical associations are preparing a bill for submission to the Legislature which we hope will adequately deal with the legal aspects of the problem," Dr. McQuarrie said. Legislative Changes "In addition, we will propose pro-pose some legislative changes to enable the medical profession profes-sion to better police itself. Utah's medical profession recognizes its responsibility to keep its own house clean. We also arc intensifying our continuing education efforts to insure that all Utah's doctors are aware of their responsibilities responsibil-ities in the doctor-patient relationship and of their professional obligation to keep their medical education cur rent," he said. What can Utahns expect in the coming months as a result of the medical professional liability insurance problem? First, we may expect higher hospital and doctor's bills reflecting the higher bills from the insurance companies. Second, Se-cond, we must consider the possibility that if medical liability insurance becomes unavailable to the doctors, they may not be able to continue providing their services. ser-vices. And, third, we can expect the problem to be one of the major issues in upcoming sessions of the Utah State Legislature. Public Discussion "A thorough public discussion discus-sion of the medical malpractice insurance problem is necessary neces-sary and desirable," Dr. McQuarrie said. "Everyone involved lawyers, law-yers, doctors, hospital administrators, admin-istrators, patients, and legislatorsmust legisla-torsmust cooperate and con front the problem before it becomes a crisis in Utah," he said. "We have until the end of November of next year when the doctors' contract with Aetna Insurance Company Com-pany expires to find the answers," the Utah medical leader said. "Above all, the overall goal of the Utah State Medical Assn. is to keep the highest quality medical care possible available on an uninterrupted basis at reasonable cost," Dr. McQuarrie said. What are the causes of the medical professional liability problem? What are some of the proposed solutions? Who are involved in the problem and what are their roles? What is the medical profession doing to better police itself? And, what may you reasonably expect from your doctor compared to what you see on "Marcus Welby" every week? These are the subjects of future articles in this series. |
