OPINION: Medical malpractice insurance needs a new prescription
Anthony J. Bonomo is CEO of Physicians’ Reciprocal Insurers, which is headquartered in Roslyn.
With discussions about national health care flooding the news in recent months, it can be easy to lose sight of the unique concerns of health care professionals in New York State.
As a result of pressures both internal and external to New York's health care system, medical malpractice insurance reform has become one of the most complex issues facing health care professionals in this state over the past 30 years. The problem is especially acute on Long Island, where obstetricians, for instance, pay more for malpractice insurance than their colleagues elsewhere in the state.
We find ourselves at a crossroads in an ongoing reform process - one in which a handful of comparatively simple solutions can transcend the contentious rhetoric of the past, and truly benefit all involved parties.
By making four simple changes, the state, health care professionals and the major medical malpractice insurance providers can set past acrimony aside and work together to provide quality coverage at fair rates.
1. Steady annual rate increases: Many analysts believe that steady rate increases, rather than occasional leaps, could help stabilize the medical malpractice insurance market and give doctors and institutions more ability to manage their costs. They also would allow insurers to minimize the losses caused by their compulsory contribution to state insurance pools and other macro-level industry fluctuations. The state should mandate this approach to rate increases.
2. More comprehensive training and risk management: The reason medical malpractice insurance is needed in the first place is that sometimes health care practitioners make mistakes. More comprehensive training and risk management - that is adopting simple changes that enhance patient care - for doctors and other health care professionals, plus a greater overall focus on improving the quality of care, could help minimize medical errors and prevent good doctors from paying for the mistakes of others.
3. Better communication: More thorough and regular communication between doctors and their colleagues, the hospitals where they practice and especially their patients would contribute to a reduction in the number and size of claims in the event that medical errors do occur.
4. Increased use of reinsurance: Greater use of reinsurance - insurance policies purchased by insurance companies - would have the effect of insulating medical malpractice insurers from premium rate fluctuations and inflationary pressures. This, in turn, would help protect insurers against the risk of losses, and show regulators and potential partners how well insurers truly are managed. Insurance companies would then be in a better position to negotiate better terms.
Despite what we're seeing with health care reform in general, reforming our medical malpractice insurance system does not have to be a long, drawn-out process. Nor does it have to cause any unnecessary disruption or additional strain to the model already in place.
Adjustments like these can alleviate some of the most pressing sources of tension, while still encouraging the State Legislature to continue working toward resolving more challenging structural reforms.
Let's make our existing system healthier while gradually working toward a new model, and ensure that medical malpractice insurance in New York State remains on the road to recovery.
