Keep Malpractice Premiums Reasonable

Physicians are angry after reading Jamie Court’s Feb. 10 commentary, “Damage Cap Adds Insult to Injuries.” California’s forward-thinking 1975 law, the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act, is the most effective tort reform law in the U.S. Trial lawyers want to repeal it for their financial advantage. But Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) modeled her national reform proposal on it because it works for patients and physicians.

MICRA has kept malpractice premiums reasonable. The average obstetrician here pays $47,500 annually for malpractice insurance, while in Florida it’s $173,000. Once the highest in the nation, California malpractice rates under MICRA have risen just 55%, while in Florida they have spiked 800%. And it is fair to patients. Injured patients are compensated faster than in almost all other states, and patient awards have far outpaced both inflation and medical inflation.

Some trial lawyers want to discredit MICRA because it limits attorney fees and sets a cap on special damages for “pain and suffering.” They don’t say that MICRA allows unlimited awards on all present and future medical and economic damages. Trial lawyers are not an endangered species. But physicians, emergency rooms and safety-net programs for the uninsured are truly threatened, and everyone’s access to care will be endangered if MICRA is repealed.

John C. Lewin MD

CEO, Calif. Medical Assn.

Sacramento