The Governor’s Office announced today that West Virginia Insurance Commissioner Jane Cline plans to retire at the end of June. Cline, appointed in 2001, is well known for being a strong advocate of President Barack Obama’s health care reform efforts. However, she also was influential in helping West Virginia deal with medical malpractice lawsuits that were causing doctors to leave the state.
According to the Charleston Daily Mail, when Insurance Commissioner Cline took office in 2001, West Virginia was facing a health-care delivery crisis as doctors were closing practices and leaving the state because of the lack of available and affordable medical malpractice insurance. In fact, in 2003 approximately two dozen surgeons in West Virginia went on strike protesting high malpractice insurance rates in the state. A comprehensive report by Americans for Insurance Reform entitled Stable Losses/Unstable Rates in West Virginia outlined medical malpractice insurance in that state, analyzing what insurers have taken in and what they have paid out over the last 30 years, including jury awards, settlements and other costs.
Significant changes in 2004, however, led to more affordable medical liability insurance for doctors across West Virginia. State Chamber of Commerce President Steve Roberts said Cline was always fair and listened to the various perspectives on all issues.
The State of West Virginia Medical Malpractice Report, provided by the state offices of the insurance commissioner, offers interested physicians information about the industry in general as well as relevant statutory regulations. Physicians who want to learn more about the medical liability insurance policies available to them can also contact Malpractice Insurance Agency, which specializes in providing doctors nationwide with multiple quotes tailored to their unique situations, but also has experience working with physicians in West Virginia.
