West Virginia Medical Malpractice Reform Fills Insurers Pockets
One of the benefits of the Democrats taking over Congress this fall is that we may be hearing less and less of the medical malpractice "crisis" in this country. To be sure, Congress will focus its attention on legitamate crisis issues, or at least those with factual support.
Alas, the damage has already been done at the state level in many states including West Virginia. The result? More money for the insurance companies by taking away an injured party's right to the courts.
"Medical malpractice insurance in West Virginia, once a money-losing business, has become a profit machine for insurers as the number of lawsuits filed against doctors has declined, a report by the state Insurance Commission shows.
Medical malpractice insurers made twice as much money as they spent in West Virginia last year. These insurers' profit margin is higher than the national average for medical malpractice insurers, the report said.
Doctors have benefited as well. West Virginia Mutual, the state's largest medical malpractice insurer, cut its rates by an average of 5 percent and plans another 15 percent cut in January, said Bill Kenny, deputy director of the Insurance Commission and the report's author."
Read the full article in the Charleston Daily Mail.