District Medical Society Launches New Campaign  For Medical Liability Insurance Reform

MSDC Calls on Mayor Williams and D.C. Council to Enact Medical Malpractice Reform Legislation

Washington DC  The Medical Society of the District of Columbia (MSDC) joined today with officials of the American Medical Association (AMA) calling on the elected leadership of the District of Columbia to take immediate action to address the ongoing crisis of medical liability insurance rates for doctors.

Victor G. Freeman, MD, MPP, and President of MSDC, said that fundamentally, the issue affects patient access to care. “Medical liability premiums are out of control and threatening our ability to continue to provide a full range of medical services to this community.  Five and six-figure annual premium rates are forcing many of my colleagues to close their DC offices or cut vital services to District patients,” said Dr. Freeman.

At a morning press conference at the Mayflower Hotel, Donald J. Palmisano, MD, JD, immediate past president of the AMA, said, “D.C.'s medical liability problems are a microcosm of what's happening on a national scale. Across the country, physicians are forced to practice the 3 Rs - restricting services, retiring early and relocating.” AMA members from across the country are in Washington for the final day of their 2005 National Advocacy Conference.  “All day today, AMA members are talking with their U.S. Senators and Representatives - on behalf of America's patients. I'm glad the leaders of the D.C. physician community are doing the same on a local level,” Palmisano added.

John H. Niles, Jr., MD, Chairman of the MSDC Medical Liability Task Force, gave a personal account of how the medical liability issue has affected his ability to serve his patients.  “After more than 30 years of providing obstetrics services in the District, I am unable to secure any reasonably-priced liability coverage to continue my practice here.  I have a profoundly sad and empty feeling when I realize that I will no longer be able to bring my skills and my experiences to the service of those hundreds of patients and their families who have come to rely on my judgment,” said Dr. Niles.

“It might be too late for me, but we have to think about our younger doctors, our patients, our children and our grandchildren,” he added

The District of Columbia has the highest average jury awards for medical liability claims in the nation and some of the some of the highest medical liability premiums in the nation. (see attached charts)

For obstetrician/gynecologists practicing in the District of Columbia, average premiums in 2000 were $75,145 per year.  Now they are $139,128 annually.  If nothing is done to help this situation, these rates will exceed $235,000 five years from now. 

For general surgeons in DC, their rates are now approaching $70,000 per year, nearly twice what they were five years ago.   By the end of the decade, insurance rates for internal medicine will have increased by more than four times what they were in 2000.

In a study prepared for the NORCAL Mutual Insurance Company in 2002, DC ranked number one in the nation when compared to the other 50 states with an average payment figure of $584,338.  By comparison, Maryland came in at less than half that amount ($282,403) and a dozen states showed average annual payment figures that were well under $200,000.

In a detailed letter to DC Mayor Anthony A. Williams, MSDC President Victor Freeman applauded the mayor for his past leadership and asked for his help in advancing legislation before the Council.  Freeman outlined the financial problems that stem from the ongoing crisis in medical liability insurance.  “Doctors in our city are feeling a financial squeeze that comes from higher energy costs, rising rents, flat or declining reimbursement rates, and spiraling professional liability insurance rates.  The cost of doing nothing is the loss of talented doctors who will stop practicing obstetrics, surgery, and other specialties or relocate their practices altogether,” said Freeman

“ Now is the time to make a difference for the future well-being of our city.  Enact medical liability reform now,” he concluded.

Similar letters were sent today to all thirteen members of the District of Columbia City Council.