In spite of posting better underwriting outcomes and another year of favorable net income, AM Best has decided to retain its negative outlook for the medical professional liability (MPL or Medical Malpractice Insurance) sector this year. The ratings agency justified this outlook based on the segment’s unfavorable returns and an overall reduction in policyholder surplus, […]

The attorney general of New Hampshire has recently released a report urging the state’s board of medicine to introduce measures that would enhance transparency around physicians who may pose a risk to the public. One of the recommendations made by the attorney general’s office is to make malpractice complaints and settlements publicly available, alongside publishing […]

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer last month signed Public Act 60, which reforms the prior-authorization process for patients and healthcare professionals in the state. The goal of the act, which becomes effective this past June 1, is to make the prior-authorization process faster, more effective, and more transparent. The changes outlined in Public Act 60 apply […]

According to a recent decision by the Louisiana Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, medical review panels tasked with assessing the viability of medical liability cases cannot take into account whether a healthcare provider is immune from a claim under the state’s COVID-19 public health emergency declaration. The court found that statutory immunity can […]

In March of this year, the New Mexico Legislature passed a bipartisan update to the state’s Medical Malpractice Act just days before the end of the 2023 session. This move prevented a potential medical liability insurance crisis. Senate Bill 523, a compromise between trial lawyers and healthcare professionals, establishes a $1 million cap on medical […]

The American Tort Reform Foundation (ATRF) issued its 2022/2023 Judicial Hellholes report last month. The annual release documents abuses of the civil justice system in jurisdictions the pro-tort reform group says are among the most unfair and out of balance in the nation. The ATRF is a branch of the American Tort Reform Association (ATRA), […]

The medical professional liability insurance industry experienced double-digit premium growth in 2021, driven by firmer pricing and a return to pre-pandemic levels of healthcare utilization, but those gains waned last year, according to a new report published by the Medical Professional Liability (MPL) Association. The report examines direct premiums written for physicians and hospitals as […]

The Alaska Supreme Court determined late last year that a 1976 law limiting financial awards in medical liability lawsuits for Alaskans with health insurance is unconstitutional. The statute at issue, AS 09.55.548(b), provided that when a medical malpractice claimant’s losses have already been compensated in part by a collateral source, such as a health insurer, […]

Physicians, nurses and healthcare workers in the state of New York suffered the largest number of medical malpractice lawsuits filed between 2012 and 2022, while those in Wisconsin experienced the fewest filings during the same period, according to a study published online late last year. According to the study, when the numbers were adjusted for […]