MALPRACTICE PAYOUTS ROSE IN 2004:

Insurance companies and other underwriters in Pennsylvania reported a steep jump last year in payments for malpractice claims against physicians, according to a federal agency. In 2004, insurers reported paying out $448 million, a 13.5 percent jump from $394.5 million reported in 2003, according to the U.S. Health Resources & Services Administration. The 2004 figure broke the previous record, which had been set in 2001. The increase in 2004 came after two years of decline. The steep increase in 2004 might have been bumped up by delayed reporting of some payments made the previous year, one researcher said, but payouts are climbing steadily. “We’ve had a pretty steady trend upward and for anyone to claim we were dropping off over the past couple years, the general trend is reasserting itself,” said Steve Foreman, who directs the Department of Allied Health at Robert Morris University.

Higher payments generally translate to higher insurance premiums, an issue that has been hotly debated in Harrisburg in recent years, as doctors and their allies have sought a constitutional cap on jury awards for pain-and-suffering damages. Lawmakers have responded by placing restrictions on the filing of lawsuits and spending more than $220 million annually to help doctors afford insurance.