Pennsylvania has reversed the medical malpractice trend

    PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Governor Edward G.
Rendell today said that Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error
Fund (Mcare) claims have dropped by 50 percent since he took office and, as
a result of reforms, more insurers are writing malpractice policies in
Pennsylvania.

    "Pennsylvania is a success story when it comes to medical malpractice,"
Governor Rendell said during a news conference at the Philadelphia College
of Physicians. "Our actions have reversed the trend. Thanks to thoughtful
legislative reforms passed in 2002, along with aggressive judicial and
administrative reforms implemented since then, the number of malpractice
cases being filed and the cost of malpractice insurance continue to drop."

    The Governor pointed out that the 2007 claims payments for Mcare, which
is the second layer of insurance that health care providers must purchase,
are 50 percent less than was paid in 2003.

    "One indicator of the improvements of Pennsylvania's medical
malpractice climate is the number of claims being paid by Mcare, the
state-run coverage for eligible health care providers," Governor Rendell
said. "For the fourth straight year, the amount and number of claims paid
by Mcare will decrease. This year, Mcare will pay approximately $191
million in claims, half of what was paid when I first took office in 2003."

    The improved malpractice climate is also evidenced by the fact that the
two largest private medical malpractice carriers, PMSLIC and MedPro, have
recently filed for rate decreases with the Insurance Department for an
average of 11 percent and an average of 6 percent, respectively. Also,
there is renewed interest by companies that want to sell medical
malpractice insurance in Pennsylvania, with 57 newly licensed entities
writing medical malpractice coverage since April of 2002, giving doctors
greater choice of insurers.

    Health care providers in Pennsylvania are required to carry $1 million
worth of medical malpractice insurance -- the first $500,000 from a
commercial insurance company and the second $500,000 from Mcare.

    At the beginning of Governor Rendell's administration, claims payments
were at an all time high and Pennsylvania was facing a medical malpractice
affordability crisis. The administration acted quickly and built on the
reforms passed in 2002 by the General Assembly to address the concerns of
the physician community and the public.

    In addition to decreasing claims payouts by the Mcare Fund, the
Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts has reported that statewide
medical malpractice filings of all kinds were 38 percent lower in 2006 than
in the 2000-2002 base period before the reforms were implemented.

    "I am encouraged by these signs of improvement and am committed to
making sure they continue so that the number of physicians practicing in
Pennsylvania not only remains constant as it has in past few years, but
that it will grow," the Governor said.


    The Rendell administration is committed to creating a first-rate public
education system, protecting our most vulnerable citizens and continuing
economic investment to support our communities and businesses. To find out
more about Governor Rendell's initiatives and to sign up for his weekly
newsletter, visit his Web site at: http://www.governor.state.pa.us.