Maryland Corrects Med-Mal Subsidy Program

March 25, 2005

The Maryland House of Delegates this week passed a bill to enable doctors to get refunds on their malpractice insurance premiums.

The action corrects the medical malpractice reform law approved in a special session last year.

The Senate approved the same bill last week. It now goes to the governor for approval and will go into effect immediately, The (Baltimore) Sun reported.

Republican delegates failed in two attempts to amend the bill. One proposal would have reduced the subsidy to doctors’ insurance premiums in favor of higher Medicaid reimbursements. The other would have repealed the 2 percent health maintenance organization premium tax that lawmakers used to pay for the reduction to doctors’ insurance rates.

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