Sage Policy Group, Inc., Economic and Policy Consulting Firm in Baltimore, MD

6 N. Broadway, Suite 2
Baltimore, MD 21231

Phone: 410.522.7243
Fax: 410.522.7244

Sage Policy Group, Inc. is an economic and policy consulting firm specializing in economic, fiscal and legislative analysis, program evaluation, and organizational and strategic development. The firm’s clients include public agencies at every level of government, multinationals, law firms, developers, money managers and an array of nonprofit organizations operating in a variety of segments.

Maryland Hospital Association

Maryland’s healthcare industry, which forms a centerpiece of the state’s quality of life and its prosperity, faced a serious and mounting crisis. Most of the state’s physicians faced an increase of 28 percent in their 2005 medical liability premiums, prompting many to consider relocation, retirement or more limited practices. Certain medical specialties particularly vulnerable to litigation faced the most major impacts and correspondingly the most serious shortage of healthcare specialists.

The problem historically for those that have sought to reform the state’s medical liability regime is that the Maryland state legislature has more attorneys than

physicians, and in a legislative setting, attorney-oriented causes have tended to enjoy the upper hand.

That’s when Sage Policy Group arrived on the scene. On behalf of the MHA, SPG conducted an in-depth analysis of the economic impacts of the emerging medical liability crisis, including the impact of defensive medicine. The report successfully transformed the issue into a business vitality issue, including attracting the attention of the Maryland Business Council, which ultimately co-sponsored our research. With Governor Ehrlich’s help and through a special legislative session, doctors were eventually granted relief.

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