Monday, June 30, 2008

New York's Malpractice Mess

By John LaPlante

Categories: New York

The saw that a camel is a horse designed by a committee may be apt for what's going on in New York, as a committee seeks ways to address a projected deficit in an insurance pool for doctors.

The state's Medical Malpractice Insurance Plan faces a deficit of $525 million to $1.5 billion, and a task force is supposed to come up with recommendations. Some insurance companies say that they may raise rates on doctors with good claims histories to make up for the difference--a move that may drive some doctors out of business.

The most telling part of the story, as told by the Albany Times-Union, is that one source of the problem is the old-fashioned shell game by which politicians balance one fund by raiding another: The Medical Malpractice Insurance Plan, "was the successor to another plan that had built up a surplus of close to $1 billion, but which Govs. Mario M. Cuomo and George Pataki drained to balance the state budget. If the state hadn't raided the surplus, observers say, there would be no crisis today."