Cyrus Dugger

Keeping it Simple - Again “Tort reform didn’t lower medical premiums”

Here’s another op-ed in the Clarion-Ledger responding to a previous piece which argued that the recent success of tort “reform” in Mississippi has been good for the state.

“Tort reform didn’t lower medical premiums”

In the light of the massive problems “tort reform” has caused homeowners on the Coast, I respond to the Sept. 18 editorial (“Tort reform: Musgrove’s efforts paying off”) in which you assert that “tort reform” enabled the Medical Assurance Company of Mississippi to lower its medical malpractice insurance premiums for doctors….

Annual reports of MACM produced over the years immediately prior to and during the “tort reform” battles showed that losses to the company occurred due to investment and stock market problems - not payouts to lawsuits….

MACM’s latest annual statement available through the insurance commissioner’s office shows that it realized a gross profit of $25 million-plus in 2005. The stock market is now over 4,100 points higher than during the 2002 special session, a 55 percent rise in the market, and the interest rates earned on its investments more than doubled in the time since the “tort reform” special sessions. Premiums were too high in the first place…

Now, let’s please all turn our attention where it needs to be - on Mississippians left homeless and desperate while their insurance companies continue to deny fair coverage from losses sustained in Hurricane Katrina.

(full article)

John Hawkins, President, Miss. Trial Lawyers Assn.

The piece was written in response to this piece.

If you or your organization is interested in learning more about or working on these types of civil justice issues, please contact cdugger@drummajorinstitute.org.

Posted at 9:15 AM, Sep 25, 2006 in Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)