Med Mutual Malpractice Insurance Rates

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Let’s take a sampling of people who answer yes to this question: “Are medical malpractice insurance rates for doctors in Maryland too high?” The follow-up question that 95% (source: my best guess) of them cannot answer is: “Exactly how much does malpractice insurance cost?” To say the least, it varies wildly by specialty.

In Maryland malpractice lawsuits, the most common insurance company at risk is Medical Mutual of Maryland, a doctor-owned insurance company. This chart provides the rates according to one source, which includes data on how the rates changed from 2008 to 2009:
My comments:

  • It is unfortunate that the data blends together Baltimore City and Baltimore County and Prince George’s County and Howard County (with others). I would like to see Baltimore City and Prince George’s County standing alone. It would be interesting to see what the difference is.
  • Rates offered by Medical Protective and ProAssurance – two other Maryland malpractice insurance carriers with less market share – are substantially higher. Assuming they are not writing higher policies or covering more doctors with a prior history of malpractice, the rates do not appear to even be competitive with Medical Mutual.
  • OB/GYNs’ pay, relatively speaking, a lot of money. But it is hard to find one who does not live in a McMansion. OBs’ are paid very well (as they should be). If an OB/GYN has to save a little harder for a vacation house on the beach, it seems like a small price to pay to make sure those children who will be suffering from an injury for the rest of their lives, as the result of malpractice, will be compensated.