The Birth of Medical Mutual in Maryland

I found a Maryland Law Review article today that discusses what precipitated the birth Medical Mutual, the insurance company that insurers most Maryland doctors.

In 1974, the malpractice carrier for eighty-five percent was not Medical Mutual but St. Paul who informed doctors that because the Insurance Commissioner had refused the commissioner’s request to increase medical malpractice insurance rates, it would stop selling new malpractice policies in Maryland.

In response, the General Assembly created the Medical Mutual to provide malpractice insurance to Maryland health care providers. I had no idea that a previous “malpractice crisis” (in quotes because I’m always skeptical) spawned Medical Mutual while I was in elementary school.

Medical Mutual competes against other malpractice insurance companies and obviously does it so competitively or they would not have so many doctors. So apparently, the idea spawned 34 years ago and still works quite well today.