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Saturday, March 06, 2004Nearly half of the 2,178 doctors who have moved to Colorado in the past year fled what the American Medical Association calls malpractice 'crisis states,' according to Peregrine Management Corp., a Denver firm that tracks data on physician practices. Another 863 doctors relocated from states that the AMA says are nearing a malpractice-insurance crisis. 'People are just flooding out of Midwestern states,' said Dr. Diane Schmitz, an obstetrics and gynecology specialist who practices at the new Centura Parker Adventist Hospital southeast of Denver. And why can Colorado offer insurance at rates that are often $100,000 a year less than other states? Colorado has strict limits on how much money patients can recover from lawsuits - no more than $300,000 in what typically amounts to pain-and-suffering damages. Generally, Colorado doctors pay less than half what their colleagues are charged for malpractice coverage in other states, according to COPIC Insurance, the state's largest medical insurer. "Even if you get a big (jury) award, the court will cut it back," said Denver malpractice attorney Richard Caschette. UPDATE: At least one reader is living it: Last summer, my internist moved from Minnesota to Colorado because of malpractice insurance costs. My wife has to fly from Minneapolis to Denver to see her lung specialist. This is not good. He must be an exceptional lung specialist. posted by Sydney on 3/06/2004 08:36:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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