PICA drops Montana podiatristsby (no login)The following is a letter mailed to PICA two weeks ago regarding there dropping of Montana podiatrists. To date I have received no response. I would appreciate hearing publicly from other states that also were dropped. Thanks in advance. February 12, 2004 Jerry Brant, DPM President/CEO PICA/OUM 110 Westwood Place, suite 100 Brentwood, TN 37027 Dear Dr Brant You recently notified loyal policyholders in the state of Montana that PICA and OUM would no longer be providing them service. The reason given for cancellation of these policies is “the current adverse legal climate that exists in Montana”. This is somewhat perplexing and very disheartening for a number of reasons. The legal climate in Montana, adverse or not, is the same as it was last year and the year before that. Certainly no negative tort reform occurred during our last legislature which meets every two years. In fact during the previous decade, through which PICA/OUM insured Montana podiatrists, there has been positive tort reform. Your letter states “we are hopeful that the state will enact meaningful tort reform in the near future. Should this occur, we will re-consider our decision and may seek a license for PICA in the state.” Obviously it would be helpful to us if you could define “meaningful tort reform”. With your decision to drop Montana podiatrists our membership is now in dire straits. We are having difficulty finding coverage from another insurer. As you know, there are a limited number of companies that insure podiatrists and most are not licensed in our state. The predicament we find ourselves in is not unlike the circumstances that were present in 1980. At that time podiatrists in need of an insurer banded together and formed the Podiatry Insurance Company of America. Every podiatrist has heard your slogan “formed by podiatrists for podiatrists”. OUM has been around for almost as long. They tout their long-term commitment to podiatry, stating they are “Your partner in practice”. The OUM web site boasts that they are admitted and licensed in all 50 states. It has become painfully obvious that PICA’s original mission and purpose no longer exists. This company was created to come to the needs of podiatrists when no one else would. Now Montana podiatrists have been dropped because you perceive an adverse climate in our state and fear disaster that has not occurred. It appears that the mission now is to play it safe and maximize profits. We are disappointed and humbly beg you to reconsider. Sincerely Anthony J. Quebedeaux, DPM, FACFAS President Montana Podiatric Medical Association from IP address 67.27.93.68 Goto Forum Home |
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