Senate Give First Round Approval to Med-Mal Insurance Bill

The State Senate has advanced a bill controlling medical malpracatice insurance prices that health care professionals pay. Backers say the bill will keep doctors and others from leaving Missouri to work ins tates where premiums are lower. The State Insurance Department gets power to throw out malpractice insurance rates that are too high. It also lets the Department order insurance companies to increase rates if it finds they do not provide adequate coverage for malpracatice lawsuits. One more positive vote in the Senate sends the bill to the House.