Thursday, March 18th, 2004 — Illinois: Doctors Flee to Neighboring States and Lower Medical Malpractice Costs; NAMIC Comments
Across the state, doctors facing rising medical malpractice insurance costs are packing up their practices and relocating to Indiana and Wisconsin where state law has set caps on medical malpractice lawsuits.
For example, a director of infectious diseases quoted in the report in The Chicago Tribune will pay $4,000 a year for malpractice insurance in Wisconsin compared to the $40,000 a year he would have paid in Illinios.
Opponents of legislation addressing tort reform and more specifically medical malpractice reform place blame in the growth of claims and insurance companies‘ reduced income from the stock market.
"Medical malpractice rates are driving doctors out of business," said NAMIC Director - Legal and Regulatory Affairs Peter Bisbecos.