INSURER ADMITS DAMAGE CAPS WON'T LOWER DOCTORS' PREMIUMS

The company running South Carolina's largest medical malpractice insurer stated that "our data is just not
adequate" to guarantee that a cap on non-economic damages would lower doctors' malpractice premiums.
The company joins the growing ranks of insurers that privately admit the failure of malpractice caps but
continue to push publicly for their passage. Marsh USA executive, Timothy Ward, answered the questions
of the Senate Judiciary Committee Chair on the impact of a non-economic damage cap on JUA, the South
Carolina Joint Underwriting Association that covers 80 percent of the state's doctors, and PCF, the
Patients' Compensation Fund. He did not determine any premium savings for doctors with JUA, writing: "The impact on the JUA rating structure is much more difficult to determine. Our impact would be primarily
in the reduction of legal expenses and potentially lower frequency." "Marsh USA is the third malpractice
insurer in as many years to break industry silence and admit that damage caps don't help doctors. It's time lawmakers stop swallowing industry lies and implement strong rate regulation and insurance reformv- the only proven way to bring down malpractice premiums," said Carmen Balber, consumer advocate with
the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights (FTCR).

-- Originally Published on ConsumerWatchdog.org