TALLAHASSEE - Doctors will get a hint this week of how much relief they can expect from a new law aimed at reining in skyrocketing malpractice premiums.
The law should lower what insurance companies have to pay out in malpractice lawsuit damages. It also required state regulators to come up with a formula for how much the law's provisions should help control rates.
That number is expected to be published today, giving doctors, insurers and patients the first idea of the law's effects.
But insurance companies and regulators already are saying that doctors' premiums still are likely to go up in many cases, just not as much as they would have if lawmakers hadn't passed the bill.
"This is definitely going to help, but it's likely to be more help in mitigating the size of the increases," said Sam Miller, spokesman for the Florida Insurance Council.
Regulators are hearing that none of the companies are likely to lower their rates in the first year.
"In the conversations that we're having, we don't necessarily anticipate any filings with a net negative effect," said Steve Roddenberry, an official with the Department of Insurance Regulation.
Timothy Kenesey, president of Indiana insurer MedPro, told the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee last month that his company would have raised rates from 20 to 60 percent if the bill hadn't passed.
At the committee's meeting, insurance companies told senators that the changes from the bill haven't had time to flow into their ratemaking scheme. For example, there still might be several big lawsuits in the pipeline in which damages wouldn't be limited.
Senate President Jim King said doctors should know that rates won't immediately drop.
"If the doctors were anticipating there would be a dramatic reduction within the first year of us passing the bill, then they weren't listening to their own testimony," the Jacksonville Republican said. "It's realistic to expect a stabilization first, the first or second year, then a reduction."
The first year, insurers are likely to file for higher rates, but subtract some of the increase to meet the state's "presumed factor" for lowering rates.
So some doctors might be disappointed when they get their renewal bills this winter.
"When the invoices start hitting the doctors' offices, they are going to be very, very upset and concerned because they were led to believe this was going to make a difference," said Sandra Mortham, chief executive officer of the Florida Medical Association. "The question will be just how much the increase is."
The legislation limits an individual doctor's liability for noneconomic damages in most medical malpractice cases to $500,000. A medical facility's liability would be limited to $750,000 in most cases.
Multiple victims - such as a victim, a spouse and their children - could file multiple lawsuits against the doctor and the facility, but no group of victims could win more than $2.5-million.
Economic damages, such as for lost wages or medical care, wouldn't be capped.
Doctors have been complaining loudly in the past few years about spiraling premiums for malpractice insurance, which insurers blame on more costly lawsuits. Lawyers for victims of malpractice fought hard against capping damages in lawsuits.
Although the law won't immediately lower rates for most doctors, it has emboldened some companies to enter the market.
Two new insurers have been approved to write limited policies, and two others are seeking to get into the market. All four are alternative types of companies that have different regulatory rules but can write certain types of policies to help shore up a market.
