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"TMLT has now reduced rates for Texas physicians six consecutive yearssince the passage of House Bill 4 and Proposition 12 in 2003," said BobFields, president and CEO of TMLT. For the first five years, rates werereduced across the board for all specialties: 12% in 2004; 5% in 2005; 5% in2006; 7.5% in 2007; 6.5% in 2008. For 2009, all specialties will receive arate decrease but the reduction will vary by specialty and territory with anaverage decrease of 4.7%. According to Fields, the cumulative premium savingsrealized by policyholders will exceed $275 million since January 2004.
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"This is the fourth consecutive year the Trust has announced apolicyholder dividend," said Fields. "The 22.5% dividend is the largestpercentage dividend in the Trust's history. Since the first dividend wasdeclared in 2005, renewing TMLT policyholders will have received dividendcredits off renewal premiums amounting to approximately $105 million."
Since the passage of medical liability reform, TMLT insured physicianswill have saved $380 million in decreased premiums, once this latest round ofrate cuts and dividends is implemented.
Effective tort reform has continued to reduce nonmeritorious litigationagainst physicians. As long as 2003 tort reform measures remain in place, TMLTbelieves the legal environment will remain stable. TMLT's current strongfinancial position makes these rate reductions and dividends possible;however, there is no guarantee that the business and legal climate willsupport future rate reductions or dividends. The TMLT Governing Board,executive management, and financial consultants to the Trust determine ratereductions and dividend considerations annually.
TMLT is the state's largest medical liability insurance provider, servingover 14,500 Texas Medical Association (TMA) member physicians.
TMLT is a not-for-profit health care liability claim trust created andendorsed by TMA and owned by its physician policyholders. The Trust isheadquartered in Austin, Texas. For more information about TMLT, go tohttp://www.tmlt.org.CONTACT: Dana Leidig, 512-425-5934, [email protected] Vice President Communications & Advertising Laura Brockway, 512-425-5936, [email protected] Manager Communications & Advertising
SOURCE Texas Medical Liability Trust
