With the cost of medical malpractice in New York topping the charts, Governor Peterson is going initiate a Freeze on insurance rates. Doctors have been complaining that the increasing amount of medical malpractice insurance is so high, that it is literally driving them out of the state of New York to practice somewhere else. The fact of the matter is that the rates have been so high because there have been so many payouts in settlements of medical malpractice cases. Governor Peterson is planning to freeze the insurance rates for a year so that their administration can figure out a better way to keep practitioners in New York without having to increase insurance rates. The rate of medical malpractice in New York is so high, that many doctors cannot afford to practice medicine anymore. This statement seems rather odd due to their large salaries, however when a case of medical malpractice occurs everything changes.

This freeze of medical malpractice New York insurance rates comes at a good time for practitioners because in late 2009, insurance rates were scheduled to increase by about 30%. If this increase would have gone through practitioners throughout the state of New York would be packing their bags. Some issues that arise in response to the freeze of insurance rates are patient care, settlement packages, and medical malpractices instances. Patient care in response to the freeze is suspected not to be compromised in the least. The only people who may take a hit on this issue are insurance companies if the rate of medical malpractice in New York continues to increase. People that are involved in a medical malpractice suit should take notice because the insurance companies are not receiving as much from doctors; therefore they will be more stringent when it comes to a settlement offer. Medical malpractice is a big issue and is the main reason for this freeze. The government is using this time to figure out a better system, a better way of doing things. Not only are the doctors who commit the medical malpractice to blame, the insurance companies who do not properly weigh the risk of doctors are to blame as well. If an insurance company does not properly weigh the risk of a doctor correctly, the rate of medical malpractice insurance will be askew.

Medical malpractice in New York is a big problem in which Governor Peterson is trying to hold things off for a year so that some research can be done. Since medical malpractice in New York is such a big issue, it is imperative for a proper solution to be reached. Freezing insurance rates is one way to appease doctors, but anger insurance companies. If doctors keep committing acts of medical malpractice that leads to heavy settlements there are going to be some major problems. People who have been wronged in a medical malpractice case deserve to be repaid for the troubles they have been through. Whether it was developing complications for a surgery that went bad or from a misdiagnosis, victims deserve to be compensated. Their compensation should not be decreased just because doctors, who are committing medical malpractice, are threatening to leave the state of New York.