That's one possibility.

But the evidence doesn't add up.

In Colorado, for example, malpractice premiums have increased between 5 percent and 15 percent annually in recent years.

You might think that's because a lot of doctors are being sued.

But a Harvard University study found that only one in eight victims of negligent medical care ever files suit, regardless of the degree of negligence or the seriousness of the injury.

The rest - who most often are the poor, children or the elderly - never even try.

The actual number of malpractice cases is small, according to Jury Verdict Reporter of Colorado.

In 2001, 22 medical malpractice cases went to court. Three of the plaintiffs won. In 2000, there were 16 cases and six plaintiffs won.

Of course there are out-of-court settlements, too, and those numbers are harder to track.

But they don't appear to be affecting the bottom line of the state's largest medical malpractice carrier, COPIC.

In 2000, the company reported collecting $44 million in premiums. "Direct losses" due to awards and settlements to malpractice victims were $5.6 million.

It hardly seems a crisis.

What's really at play here is something else: payback.

Yes, with the possible exception of the tobacco industry, whose death toll alone surely qualifies it for membership in the Axis of Evil, the insurance industry has to be the most favored constituent of Congress, the White House and every state legislative body in America.

This coalition of greedheads has pumped millions into the campaigns of candidates of both parties.

In 2002, the insurance industry nationally spent $32.3 million in political contributions. In Colorado, Common Cause estimates the insurance cartel pumped about $1.3 million into state campaigns between 1996 and 2002.

The insurance industry also spent unreported millions on "education" campaigns - the ones that make you leap for the mute button every time their ads hector you to "Call him right now and tell him ... ."

Not surprisingly, the industry expects a return on such a substantial investment, especially when the plummeting bond and stock markets have played havoc with the rest of its portfolio.

So when the insurance carriers hiked premiums across the country, their friends in public office immediately rose to defend them, saying greedy plaintiffs were the problem.

But if limits on jury awards were the remedies for high premiums, as proponents have claimed, Colorado and the 24 other states that have such limits should have the lowest malpractice premium costs in the country. We don't.

In contrast, the state where premiums have increased at the slowest rate is California. How did it happen?

In 1988, voters passed a ballot measure to roll back excessive insurance premiums, to control industry "abuses" and to require insurance companies to justify every proposed rate increase. It worked.

Funny, our lawmakers who claim to be so concerned about malpractice premiums never bring this up.

Diane Carman's column runs Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday.