By inflating their estimated 'losses' as much as 66 percent, medical malpractice insurance companies have misled regulators, lawmakers and the public and overcharged physicians and other health care providers. Because all insurance companies use the same flawed accounting practices, it is likely that the insurance industry is responsible for several billion dollars in premium overcharges over the last few years, a period during which premiums have soared. The nation's economic stability and security demands that the insurance industry's accounting practices be investigated, and reforms put in place such as those that were made after widespread financial fraud was uncovered at Enron, WorldCom, Arthur Andersen and other corporations.

Harvey Rosenfield