HB 1766 -- Medical Malpractice Insurance

Sponsor:  Burnett

This bill changes the laws regarding medical malpractice
insurance.  The bill:

(1)  Requires that any association established to provide medical
malpractice insurance through an assessment plan must specify in
its articles and bylaws exactly what kinds of assessments can be
made against a member;

(2)  Requires all medical malpractice insurers to provide the
Department of Insurance with a rating plan;

(3)  Makes all malpractice insurance policy forms subject to
department approval;

(4)  Allows the department to disapprove any medical malpractice
rate that relies upon loss experience from other states; involves
a surcharge for any pending malpractice claim; or is excessive,
inadequate, or discriminatory.  A rate can be deemed inadequate
if it is unreasonably low and can have the effect of destroying
competition;

(5)  Requires medical malpractice insurers to provide at least 60
days' notice before cancelling a policy, issuing a non-renewal of
a policy, or raising or lowering premium rates by more than 15%
in any 12-month period.  The notice of a premium rate change must
include actuarial justification for the rate change;

(6)  Requires the department to conduct a public hearing within
30 days of receiving notice from an insurer of a requested rate
change and rule on the requested rate change within 20 days of
the hearing.  The department's decision is subject to
administrative review;

(7)  Makes insurers subject to a fine of $100 for each day they
are delinquent in filing any required claims information with the
department;

(8)  Creates the Malpractice Education, Data, and Insurance
Capacity (MEDIC) Program to replace the Missouri Medical
Malpractice Joint Underwriting Association.  The program will
educate health care providers on ways to avoid malpractice and
conduct independent analysis of the data collected by the
advisory organization designated by the department.  The program
will provide backup coverage when market conditions make it
difficult for some health care providers to secure medical
malpractice insurance;

(9)  Requires all parties to a tort action based upon improper
health care to engage in mediation;

(10)  Delays until January 1, 2007, the inflation-adjusted annual
increase in the maximum award for noneconomic damages in medical
malpractice cases;

(11)  Allows a hearing on the propriety of venue in any medical
malpractice claim and allows costs and attorney fees to be
awarded to the prevailing party;

(12)  Requires that the qualified health care provider who
submits an affidavit stating that medical malpractice occurred
(as a prerequisite for a malpractice claim) must be actively
engaged in the practice of medicine or must have retired from an
active practice within the past five years;

(13)  Makes any statements conveying sympathy for a person's
pain, suffering, or death inadmissible as evidence of liability
in a medical malpractice action.  Any statement regarding fault,
however, remains admissible;

(14)  Allows the filing of a miscellaneous case in circuit court
for the purpose of securing copies of a person's health care
records.  The filing will toll the statute of limitation for a
medical malpractice claim by that person for up to 120 days;

(15)  Creates the Health Care Stabilization Fund Study Commission
to study the medical malpractice insurance crisis and make
recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly on how to
stabilize the medical malpractice insurance market.  The
department will provide staff for the commission; and

(16)  Requires the department director to develop a standardized
application form for medical malpractice coverage.

The bill contains an emergency clause for certain sections.

Missouri House of Representatives
92nd General Assembly, 2nd Regular Session
Last Updated September 23, 2004 at 11:16 am