MD. GOV. URGES MED-MAL ACTION:

Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich called on the legislature to pass a medical malpractice reform bill after the state’s largest medical malpractice insurer filed for a 41 percent rate increase in malpractice insurance rates. The governor said Medical Mutual’s planned increase will “push the issue over the threshold.” Ehrlich told reporters the General Assembly should hold a special session to deal with the crisis, but added that he’s not interested in wasting time. “The General Assembly could pass a bill in one day if they can get together beforehand,” he said. “This is about the ability of a pregnant woman to have confidence that her OB will be in practice next year,” Ehrlich said. “This is about real people.” The concept of risk pool makes some sense, Ehrlich said. “How we fund it is the devil in the details.” But, he said, sending the bill to taxpayers is not an option. Medical Mutual raised its rates 28 percent last year, but warned that it might raise rates again this year if the trends didn’t change. The actual impact of the proposed increase on doctors will be greater because the physician-owned Medical Mutual is proposing to drop the usual dividend it pays. The dividend last year reduced premiums by 14 percent. The proposed rates are subject to review by the Maryland Insurance Administration, a process likely to take a few months. Insurance Commissioner Alfred W. Redmer Jr. said he wants to use outside experts to review the numbers and to conduct a public hearing.