Malpractice insurance rates are on the rise, particularly in high-risk specialties like obstetrics, and that is creating a crisis in some rural communities. In a state where 50 of 55 counties are already designated as medically underserved areas or health professional shortage areas, the problem is particularly acute. We can ill afford, particularly in our rural areas, to lose any more of our physicians.
While the situation is affecting doctors and hospitals regardless of whether they are rural or not, the problem is reaching a crisis situation in some rural areas.
In rural areas, physicians are less likely to have access to advanced medical facilities such as neo-natal intensive care units or to have colleagues who can help share the work load. In addition, rural doctors typically see a high percentage of Medicare and Medicaid patients, so they often get lower reimbursement levels than their urban counterparts. These factors magnify the malpractice insurance crisis in rural areas.
In Pennsylvania, 31 small, community hospitals have banded together to form a group that self-insures its members, with some help from reinsurance companies. The logic of the Community Hospital Alternate Risk Transfer (CHART) is that its members are homogenous, have good claims histories, and present a good and predictable risk profile.
The rising costs of medical professional liability insurance have created a crisis which threatens this country’s weakened health care system. As of July 2003, The American Medical Association identified nineteen states in crisis: Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois,
Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
In many states, physicians have experienced double-to-triple digit increases in their malpractice liability insurance; forcing providers to either retire or move to a different state. This crisis impacts almost every aspect of the health care system, including hospitals, nurses, patients, emergency departments, and trauma centers.
