The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report highlights recent developments related to medical malpractice in two states. Summaries appear below.Mississippi: The Medical Assurance Company of Mississippi will reduce malpractice insurance premium rates by 5% in 2006, state Insurance Commissioner George Dale announced on Monday, the AP/Jackson Clarion-Ledger reports. MACM, which provides malpractice insurance for about 70% of physicians in the state, also will refund 10% of the premiums paid by physicians in 2005, provided that the finances of the company continue to improve. MACM will base the refund on the first $1 million of malpractice insurance for physicians covered by the company as of Dec. 15, 2005. "I am pleased that MACM is in a financial position to take these steps," Dale said, adding, "This is further proof that recent reforms continue to show that Mississippi can maintain a fair and equitable marketplace for those companies who write medical malpractice insurance." The state in 2004 enacted limits on civil lawsuits. MACM CEO Michael Houpt said, "As we have said many times, it has never been our goal to provide the least expensive medical liability insurance, nor was it our goal to see how much wealth we could accumulate. Our mission has always been to make coverage available at a rate that allowed us to be fiscally secure in the long term" (AP/Jackson Clarion-Ledger, 10/11).

Washington: Physicians and trial attorneys "are mounting aggressive grass-roots campaigns" and television advertisements for two measures on the Nov. 8 statewide ballot that would "offer radically different solutions to rising malpractice insurance costs," the Seattle Times reports. Both sides in large part have focused on I-330, which has support from physicians, hospitals and malpractice insurers and opposition from trial attorneys and would limit attorney fees in malpractice lawsuits and place a $350,000 cap on noneconomic damages in such cases. Supporters and opponents have raised a combined $10 million for campaigns related to I-330. In addition, state voters will consider I-336, which has support from trial attorneys and would revoke the medical licenses of physicians who have received three malpractice jury verdicts against them over a 10-year period. I-336 also would improve public access to information about medical errors, establish a supplemental state malpractice insurance fund and require public hearings on proposed malpractice insurance premium rate increases (Thomas, Seattle Times, 10/10).

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