Seth Hunter, MD

Seth Hunter, MD, recently traveled to his home state of New Mexico to teach them something he has learned at ISMA: advocacy. Specifically, Dr. Hunter wanted to pass on the knowledge of Indiana’s medical malpractice guidelines that have been in place since 1975 and were the first of their kind in the nation. 

“I recently had the opportunity to return to my native state of New Mexico to discuss with law makers strategies that Indiana has used to improve physician workforce retention and lower cost of care for Hoosiers as they considered House Bill 099, a bill to reform medical malpractice, and Senate Bill 002, which focused on cost containment through prohibiting prior authorization for mental health medication and limiting re-authorization for medications to treat chronic disease to no more frequently than every three years,” Dr. Hunter said. 

Because of the work surrounding medical malpractice that ISMA has continuously engaged in since its founding, Dr. Hunter was able to share Indiana's successes in creating a favorable practice environment to retain physicians in high-need areas, including primary care, psychiatry, and specialty surgical practices. Dr. Hunter has served as the YPS representative to the ISMA Commission on Legislation for the past two years and continues to serve on the YPS member-at-large team and the YPS delegation. He is an assistant professor of clinical family medicine at Methodist FM residency. 

“Legislators were excited to hear how high thresholds for malpractice suits in Indiana, along with moderate liability caps, have contributed to a very favorable practice environment that retains physicians,” Dr. Hunter said. “They were also interested in the potential of malpractice caps to reduce costs to the judiciary through fewer suits with low or no merit.” 

Using states like Indiana as a model, physicians in New Mexico are now limited in individual liability to a maximum of $1 million, a significant step forward in a state where no cap on punitive damages previously existed. According to ISMA’s most recent membership and advocacy overview, Indiana’s malpractice insurance rates are now 40% to 70% lower than in surrounding states, a gap the association links to the durability of the Medical Malpractice Act and the state’s tort-reform structure.

According to Dr. Hunter, he was able to point towards Indiana as an example of common-sense drug coverage for some of the state’s most at-risk patients when meeting with legislators regarding SB 002. Indiana Medicaid programs have been offering universal coverage of mental health drugs since at least 2005 with the passage of HEA 1325, a measure supported by the ISMA. 

“During my time in Santa Fe, it was clear when meeting with New Mexico legislators that the ISMA has transformed Indiana into a leader in innovation in the health care landscape,” Dr. Hunter said. “While there is still work to do in changing the landscape of health care for the better, there is much to celebrate about the work we, the ISMA, have accomplished together in protecting physicians and improving care delivery to Hoosiers. Through our collective voice and wisdom, the ISMA will continue to be a shining example of the power of organized medicine to move our profession forward.”