NATCHEZ &8212; Mississippi doctors are starting to see some of the benefits of tort reforms bills the state passed in recent years.

Medical Assurance Co. of Mississippi, which insures about 70 percent of doctors in the state, recently announced a five percent decrease in rates for 2006 and a 10 percent refund on 2005 premiums for doctors in the state. Add to that the fact that rates held steady from 2003 to 2004 and doctors are just about jumping for joy.

&8220;The rates going down this year, that&8217;s a good thing, and rates not increasing the year before, that&8217;s a good thing, too,&8221; Natchez obstetrician Dr. Thomas Carey said.

Tort reform bills passed in recent years have limited damages in medical malpractice rates and given doctors more protection in such cases, including preventing patients from suing doctors for medicines that turn out to be unsafe &8212; patients can still sue pharmaceutical companies.

Before tort reform, insurance rates were skyrocketing, including a 45 percent jump in 2001.

&8220;It makes it very difficult if the rates keep increasing,&8221; said Carey&8217;s partner, Dr. Donielle Daigle. &8220;Our rates are very high. It&8217;s made it difficult to run a practice. People think doctors in general make a lot of money, but with the amount of money we have to spend, it&8217;s not the case &8212; especially not in obstetrics.&8221;

The decrease in rates is especially good for surgeons and obstetricians, who generally have the highest malpractice rates because of the nature of their practice. Carey and Daigle spend tens of thousands of dollars each year on malpractice insurance.

&8220;We have high rates because if in the delivery anything goes wrong, people want to sue,&8221; Daigle said. &8220;In the past, people have won huge settlements even without legitimate settlements.&8221;

That&8217;s starting to change, Daigle said.

But the decrease in rates isn&8217;t even the most important sign of change, Carey said. MACOM has started accepting new applications for insurance converage.

&8220;A few years ago they wouldn&8217;t even look at your application if you wouldn&8217;t join a group already with MACOM,&8221; Carey said. &8220;Now they have said they&8217;ll start looking at people on an individual basis.&8221;

None of the large national insurance companies have come back into the state yet, but Carey said he has high hopes that may soon happen.

But Carey also said the changes have not gone far enough.

&8220;Hopefully things will continue to improve. Doctors come to small towns to practice and want to help, but with the system that&8217;s set up, it&8217;s hard to practice,&8221; Carey said.