GOV.’S MED-MAL BILL PRAISED:

A consultant hired by the Ehrlich administration estimates Gov. Robert Ehrlich’s new medical malpractice insurance bill would save doctors about six times as much money as the bill that was enacted over his veto by the Maryland legislature in January. The new bill, which is awaiting hearings in the Senate and House of Delegates, would reduce malpractice premiums by about 18.8 percent when the savings are fully implemented, which could take up to five years, said a report by Milliman Consultants and Actuaries. The same company estimated that the reforms passed by the legislature at a special session in December would reduce premiums by about 2.9 percent.

“The Milliman reports confirm what the governor had said all along, that the legislature’s bill did very little to reduce rates,” Don Hogan, one of the governor’s legislative aides, said.

The law passed by the legislature included some limits on settlements. Ehrlich’s new bill would go much further by reducing the cap on noneconomic damages, reducing payments for estimated future medical bills and requiring damages to be paid out over a number of years instead of in an upfront lump sum payment.