title: Malpractice premiums in Massachusetts, a high-risk state: 1975 to 2005.
abstract: Massachusetts has the fourth-highest median malpractice settlement payments for all states. The American Medical Association (AMA) declares it a crisis state. As a test case, we analyzed its premiums from 1975 to 2005. In 2005 mean premiums were $17,810 for the coverage level and policy type most frequently purchased. Most physicians paid lower inflation-adjusted premiums in 2005 than in 1990. Mean premiums increased in only three specialties comprising 4 percent of physicians: obstetrics, neurology, and orthopedists-spinal surgery. However, because of discounts and surcharges, in 2005 premiums within the three highest-risk specialties varied nearly threefold, and nearly one-third paid less than in 1990.
authors.affiliation: Suffolk University Law School in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. mrodwin@suffolk.edu
authors.forename: Marc A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Rodwin
authors.forename: Hak J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Melissa M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Ozaeta
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Omar
mesh_terms: D007351:Insurance, Liability / Q000191:economics / Q000639:trends*; D016365:Liability, Legal / Q000191:economics; D008318:Malpractice / Q000191:economics*; D008404:Massachusetts; D010820:Physicians / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013221:State Health Plans; D014481:United States