MINNEAPOLIS, January 21, 2008—The Health Policy Group of the American Medical Association has just published three papers relating to medical liability insurance.

• The first report, The Impact of Liability Pressure and Caps on Damages on the Healthcare Market, summarizes the economic literature on the impacts of caps and concludes that there is a large and growing body of research which shows that caps on non-economic damages lead to improved patient access to care, lower medical liability premiums, and lower health care costs.
• The second report, Professional Liability Insurance Rates and Distribution of Rate Changes, 2003-2007, summarizes trend data from the 2000 to 2007 Medical Liability Monitor surveys of professional liability insurance premiums and finds that in many states rates have leveled off or even decreased. Decreases notwithstanding, PLI rates remain at historic highs in many areas of the country. It is available to AMA members only.
• The third report, Professional Medical Liability Insurance Indemnity and Expense Payments, 1997-2006, examines Physician Association of America (PIAA) reports on claims and payment levels between 1997 and 2006. The PIAA data show that payments rose faster than inflation over that period, and the period ended with an 8.4% increase between 2005 and 2006, when a new maximum average payment of $340,769 was reached. This report is also available only to AMA members.

Each of the reports, and other research reports on the medical liability insurance market, can be found at www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/7800.html.