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Arch Intern Med. 2004;164:1173-1178.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

INTRODUCTION

There is little doubt about the following facts: Physicians across the United States have been confronted with alarming increases in the cost of malpractice insurance, and access to critical medical services is imperiled in many states. National media cover the closing of trauma centers and obstetrical suites and a number of state legislatures have met in special session to attempt to deal with the crisis. The American Medical Association has declared 18 states to be in crisis and predicts many more will follow.¹

Beyond the headlines, however, there are several questions that require answers:

1. Why have rate increases varied so much by venue and specialty?
   
2. Is the organized plaintiffs' bar correct when it argues that these effects have been caused not by an increase in litigation but by insurance company mismanagement and greed?
   
3. Are there effective actions that can be taken now to mitigate the problem?
   
4. What is the price . . . [Full Text of this Article]

SOLUTIONS

COSTS

CONCLUSIONS

Richard E. Anderson, MD
The Doctors Company
185 Greenwood Rd
Napa, CA 94558
(e-mail: randerson@thedoctors.com)

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