Like rabbits, the Times columnist's factoids (earlier coverage here, here, here and here) must be chased individually to their little holes: MedPundit (Jun. 29) has a letter from a Missouri physician concerning the supposed drop in medical malpractice payouts there as announced by the state's Department of Insurance. The Missouri State Medical Society website has a response to a tendentious press release issued by the state insurance department in Dec. 2003 concerning its annual report on malpractice insurance for the year 2002, but doesn't seem to have posted a reply to the April report yet.