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Canada keeps malpractice cost in check
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Issue
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| Contributor | Scott³ |
| Last Edited | Scott³ Aug 24, 2009 08:07am |
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| Category | News |
| Author | Susan Taylor Martin |
| News Date | Monday, July 27, 2009 01:55:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | "For neurosurgeons in Miami, the annual cost of medical malpractice insurance is astronomical — $237,000, far more than the median price of a house.
In Toronto, a neurosurgeon pays about $29,200 for coverage. It's even less in Montreal ($20,600) & Vancouver ($10,650).
The costs are strikingly different, largely because of the ways in which Canada insures doctors & protects those who are sued:
•In 1978, the Canadian Supreme Court limited damages for pain and suffering. Adjusted for inflation, the cap now is just over $300,000. The U.S. has no federal cap on damages, though a few states, including Florida, have imposed them.
•Instead of buying insurance from a for-profit company, as most U.S. doctors do, Canadian physicians are covered through their membership in the nonprofit Canadian Medical Protective Association.
Membership fees vary only by the type of work & region of the country. All neurosurgeons in Ontario, for example, pay the same amount regardless of how many times each may have been hit with a claim.
"We don't adjust our fees based on individual experience; it's the experience of the group," says Dr. John Gray, the executive director. "That's what the mutual approach is all about, and it helps keep the fees down for everyone."
Moreover, the association provides legal counsel for doctors who are sued and pays the damages, no matter how much.
In the U.S. health care debate, malpractice is an emotional issue, fueled by huge awards in a few well-publicized cases. President Obama was booed in June when he told the American Medical Association he wouldn't push for limits on malpractice jury awards in his plan to overhaul the health care system.
"We got a crazy situation where Obama is talking about the cost of medicine but he said, 'I don't believe in caps,'" complains Dr. Dennis Agliano, past pres. of the Florida Medical Association. "If you don't have caps, the sky's the limit and there's no way to curtail those costs." |
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