MD. DOCS HALT SURGERY IN PROTEST:

Physicians in northwest Maryland plan to halt non-emergency surgeries for at least two weeks to protest a 33 percent increase in malpractice premiums. The Maryland Insurance Administration approved the increase for 2005 for Medical Mutual Liability Insurance Society, which insures most of the state’s doctors. The move comes after a 28 percent jump earlier this year. Dr. Karl Riggle, a surgeon, said the “vast majority of specialists” agreed at a meeting at Washington County Hospital to protest the increase starting Nov. 15. “I guess ‘job action’ is the right word for it,” he said. Surgeries that will not get done include hernia repair, gallbladder removal, breast biopsies and colonoscopies, Riggle said. Surgeries for trauma, ruptured aneurysms and other emergencies will continue, he said. The action will continue until Dec. 1, when malpractice insurance premiums for next year are due, Riggle said. He said if state legislators do not pass malpractice insurance reforms by then, the doctors may extend the protest. Senate President Thomas V. Mike, a Democrat who has opposed malpractice reform, said lawmakers would not be bullied into action. However, he renewed a call for a special session on the issue this fall, saying a $50 million state fund could help keep rates low.