Rodwin et al. on Malpractice Insurance Premiums

Professor Michael Rustad (Suffolk) passes on a study entitled Malpractice Premiums in Massachusetts, A High-Risk State:  1975 to 2005, performed by his colleague Professor Marc Rodwin and several co-authors.  Here is the abstract:

Massachusetts has the fourth-highest median malpractice settlement payments for all states.  The American Medical Association (AMA) declares it a crisis state.  As a test case, we analyzed its premiums from 1975 to 2005.  In 2005 mean premiums were $17,810 for the coverage level and policy type most frequently purchased.  Most physicians paid lower inflation-adjusted premiums in 2005 than in 1990.  Mean premiums increased in only three specialties comprising 4 percent of physicians:  obstetrics, neurology, and orthopedists–spinal surgery.  However, because of discounts and surcharges, in 2005 premiums within the three highest-risk specialties varied nearly threefold, and nearly one-third paid less than in 1990. 

The full article, which is sure to be hotly discussed, is available (in pdf) here:

Download rodwin_malpractice_premiums_in_mass_a_high_risk_state_197520051.pdf   

–CJR