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the elderly.
"They unjustly punish and penalize the most severely injured victims of medical malpractice, and they increase insurance
company profits," Kohen said. "In fact, since 2003, ISMIE Mutual Insurance Co. has collected hundred of millions of dollars
more in premiums than it has paid out in claims and defense costs. In 2006, it had excess premiums of $154 million according
to its annual statement filed with the state of Illinois' Division of Insurance."
ISMIE Mutual Insurance Co. is Illinois' largest medical malpractice insurer.
In a joint report issued by ISMIE Mutual Insurance Co. and the Illinois State Medical Society entitled "Reality Medicine
2007, Medical Liability Reform: Keeping Doctors in Illinois," ISMIE claims that the company reduced 2006-2007 average
collection of premiums by 5.2 percent and states:
"A major falsehood that continues to be advanced is that insurance regulation - not caps - will deliver more reasonable
premiums. Regulation alone will not fix the problem facing Illinois' medical liability insurance market. At a time when
Illinois needs further insurance competition, burdensome regulation will only drive insurers away. This is the reason our
two organizations support comprehensive litigation reforms, including limits on noneconomic damage awards. Caps are a proven
winner in other states, and they will be the remedy for Illinois as well."
California and Texas have implemented similar caps on medical malpractice payouts. California enacted the Medical Injury
Compensation Reform Act in 1976 and made it constitutional in 1985. Texas enacted a MICRA-like cap in 2003 and, according to
ISMIE and the Illinois State Medical Society, it has reported positive results.
Dr. Peter Eupierre, an internal medicine specialist and president of the Illinois State Medical Society, says The
Illinois State Medical Society strongly stands by the constitutionality of these reforms and the state's urgent need to
preserve them.
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"Balance and fairness in our state's medical litigation system are integral to ensuring patient access to core medical
care services throughout Illinois," Eupierre said. "Since the law's enactment, ISMS expected personal injury lawyers would
target it for a high-profile constitutional fight. We remain confident that caps on noneconomic damage awards - as well as
the array of accompanying reforms enacted as part of the package - will pass constitutional muster."
This isn't the first time that caps in the state of Illinois have been challenged. The Illinois Supreme Court has twice
before stricken down such caps on damages as unconstitutional. In 1976 the Illinois Supreme Court in the case of Wright v.
Central DuPage Hospital Association struck down a medical malpractice cap of $500,000. Once again, in 1997 the Illinois
Supreme Court in the case of Best v. Taylor Machine found a $500,000 cap on noneconomic damages to be unconstitutional.
"We cannot predict how long it will take for the Illinois Supreme Court to reach a decision in the LeBron case," said
Kohen. "Historically, it took approximately two years from the time Best v. Taylor Machine was filed until there was a
decision by the Illinois Supreme Court. The proponents of caps have previously stated that they want this matter resolved by
the Illinois Supreme Court as soon as possible. Their actions so far are consistent with delay."
Eupierre says if the rollback succeeds, it will drive doctors from the state and medical care costs will skyrocket.
"In the end, patients' access to medical care will suffer," he said.
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