Patients lose again: The impact of losing caps in Wisconsin

“A big spike in insurance premiums could prompt some physicians in high-risk specialties such as obstetrics, neurosurgery or trauma care to stop accepting some patients or move to a state with lower malpractice premiums, health industry officials said.

Early physician retirements are another concern, as is ‘defensive medicine,’ which is the ordering of unnecessary medical tests to guard against misdiagnoses and potential litigation down the road.

At the very least, increased malpractice insurance costs will be passed on to patients in the form of larger medical bills, said Steve Brenton, president of the Wisconsin Hospital Association, Fitchburg.”