State malpractice report
failed to smooth waters
Tuesday, February 11, 2003
In August of last year, as doctors saw their malpractice premiums rise, the state Department of Banking and Insurance began what seemed a simple- enough project: collecting data to chronicle the scope of the problem. The aim was to put the facts on the table.
The report was released last month and the
rancor of a contentious debate has only escalated. The report did nothing to
forestall a job action by doctors last week, which shut down medical offices
around the state and sent patients to hospital emergency rooms.
The Department of Banking and Insurance found:
More than 7 percent of New Jersey doctors saw hikes of 30 percent or more in
their malpractice premiums.
These large increases focused on a handful of high-risk specialties, such as
obstetrician/ gynecologists and surgeons.
One company, Zurich American Insurance Company, increased premiums more than 30
percent for significantly more of its doctors than other insurers.
Opponents of tort reform -- that is, people who don't think patients should be
limited to the amount of damages they can receive in court -- immediately seized
on the data, saying the malpractice problem was being exaggerated by doctors who
want legislators to cap what juries can give to injured patients.
"The report was valuable," said Bruce Stern, president of the New
Jersey chapter of the American Association of Trial Lawyers. "The doctors
gave the legislature and the public the impression that this was a universal and
widespread problem," he said.
Doctors, for their part, have attacked the report since its release.
First, they said, the report only looked
at increases that took effect from Jan. 1 until Aug. 4 of last year. Many rate
hikes, they said, took place in November of last year and continued in the early
part of this year.
"The report is drastically skewed and is smoke and mirrors. It's what was
happening last summer. It's like summer vacation pictures. It's pretty, but it's
not what's happening now," said Robert Conroy, general counsel to the
Medical Society of New Jersey.
Henry Kane, an insurance broker for McLachlan Insurance Affiliates in
Somerville, said premiums continued to go up after the insurance department
began collecting data for its report. Kane said his information came from a
chart outlining the typical premiums offered by one of the state's two major
malpractice insurers (see chart). He declined to name the company. The average
annual premium for an OB/GYN, for instance, was nearly $52,000 in 2002, but more
than $82,000 in 2003 -- a 59 percent increase. Two lawsuits against the
physician bump the figure up to $120,957.
A general surgeon paying about $37,922 in 2002 will pay $63,292 in 2003, a 67
percent increase. Two lawsuits will bump the figure to more than $93,000. The
chart also showed that premiums for emergency room doctors jumped from about
$18,000 to $30,000 -- also a 67 percent increase.
"The numbers that we are seeing contradict the report," Kane said. He
said premiums go up regardless of the merit of the lawsuit against the doctor.
The Department of Banking and Insurance acknowledged that the report looked at
premiums hiked during a specified time period.
"Physicians were complaining about
increased rates," said Mary Cozzolino, a spokeswoman for the department.
"The state legislature said, 'We need more information.' So we collected
information about increases over 30 percent," she said. "It was
important to move beyond anecdote and to learn what was really happening in the
marketplace."
Although doctors criticized the data, the report did say that premium hikes
hitting high-risk specialties could cause some doctors to leave the state,
hurting patient access to care.
Cozzolino said the department is continuing to collect data for a follow-up
report, which will look at premiums from Aug. 4 of last year until Jan. 15. The
report could be out in March.
-- Carol Ann Campbell
Funding grants
The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer
Foundation awarded $1 million in grants to 29 community- based agencies in
northern New Jersey. The agencies that received funds provide breast health
education, screening, treatment and outreach to underserved and uninsured
populations in their communities.
Those receiving awards included the Jersey City Breast Cancer Screening Program,
African- American & Hindu Community Outreach Program in Morris County,
Project East Orange- Breast Cancer Awareness Program and Breast Cancer Outreach
to Hispanic Women in Union County.
"One of the Komen Foundation's top priorities is to provide equal access to
quality breast health care for all women," said Mary Hess, grant
coordinator for the foundation's North Jersey Affiliate.
Since its inception in 1997, the North Jersey Affiliate of the Komen Fundation
has granted over $4.1 million to community-based agencies. The affiliate serves
nine-counties in northern New Jersey-- Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Passaic,
Sussex, Somerset, Union and Warren.
-- Angela Stewart