Creating a risk retention group to provide medical malpractice liability insurance for Wyoming doctors would probably not lower their insurance rates, but it might help address having too few insurance providers in the state, according to a new study.
A risk retention group, which is a form of doctor self-insurance, could still help keep rates stable by adding competition to Wyoming’s tiny malpractice insurer market, said the study commissioned by the Wyoming Health Care Commission.
Commission Vice Chairman Steve Mossbrook said the most practical benefit of the study may be that people will know in advance what help it might be to form a risk retention group should other insurance providers be underserving the state.
He likened the study to “doing our homework in advance, so that we’re not caught having to guess what it would take to do a fill-in” in the event Wyoming falls short on insurance providers.
The study was one of several the Legislature requested of the Health Care Commission in the wake of sharply rising malpractice insurance rates for doctors and the decision by a major insurer to pull out of Wyoming.
Created in 2003, the Health Care Commission is charged with examining a wide range of health care issues and drafting specific recommendations designed to improve access to and quality of health care in Wyoming communities.
Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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