Maryland hospitals and health systems have long recognized that the medical liability system in our state is broken.  It serves attorneys, not patients.

MHA and your government affairs leaders persistently advocate for reform, but the system remains unfair—and unsustainable.

A new independent report, prompted by MHA action in the 2020 session and paid for by HSCRC, gives concrete evidence that change is needed. The analysts, Milliman and Abt Associates, confirm our argument—Maryland’s medical liability climate is among the worst in the country. They find we are particularly affected by the hardening excess insurance market, with increasing risk retention, rising premiums, and more restrictive coverage terms.

The researchers reviewed programs from other states and identified potential ways to stabilize the hospital liability market here. Without correction, Marylanders will see a loss of access to care and to medical innovations.

MHA’s Medical Liability Work Group met last week to begin a deeper dive into these findings. The group agrees that, although we face an uphill battle in Annapolis, the field should continue to advocate stridently for meaningful reforms.

We’ll use this report to educate legislators about the flaws in our medical liability system and how those flaws threaten both access to affordable health care and the stability of health care organizations.

We will keep fighting to win fairness in the medical liability arena.

Bob Atlas
President & CEO