We are frequently hear that doctors are quitting practice because frivolous medical malpractice claims have driven up the cost of insurance which, in turn, drives up health care costs. However, if the state of insurance in Wisconsin is any indicator, the medical malpractice crisis may be more of an insurance premium scam.

In Wisconsin an audit found that the fund that pays malpractice awards is operating with a significant surplus. The Wisconsin State Journal reports that the Injured Patients and Families Compensation Fund is operating with a $783 million surplus. According to the Journal surplus is nearly a half-billion dollars—that is right billion with a B—more than what is recommended.

The malpractice insurance fund has $1.2 billion in current assets, which is more than the sum of all claims paid since creation of the fund in 1975. Not only does this mean that it is extremely difficult for patients to win malpractice cases in the Wisconsin, but doctors’ insurance premiums must be grossly inflated.

According to the Wisconsin State Journal, the Wisconsin Medical Society justifies these huge insurance reserves claiming the fund needs to be large enough to cover unexpected cases. However, according to the Journal Wisconsin is the 49th state in malpractice payments per capita according to data from the National Practitioner Data Bank.
You can read the whole article here:

[Medical malpractice fund surplus reaches $783 million](http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/health-med-fit/medical-malpractice-fund-surplus-reaches-million/article_85ebd06b-e75c-575b-8b80-3f702e4093ab.html)

Insurance company or doctors’ claims about a medical malpractice crisis are more hyperbole than fact. The audit in Wisconsin demonstrates that lawsuits aren’t driving up the cost of physician insurance. Doctors’ insurance in Wisconsin is expensive because doctors are being charged exorbitant amounts to create an unnecessary reserve fund.