WASHINGTON (AP)--In advance of a Capitol Hill rally by thousands of doctors protesting rising malpractice premiums, a consumer advocacy group said Tuesday that the number and value of malpractice payments is dropping, indicating there is no medical liability crisis .

Public Citizen said the number of medical malpractice payments has dropped nearly 14% from 2001 to 2004, and that the amount of those payments also declined during that same period - from $4.4 billion to $4.2 billion.

"Insurance companies may be padding their bottom lines by jacking up rates on doctors, but it is not because of patients seeking relief for medical care through our courts," said Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen.

Dr. Ruth Schulze of Ridgewood, N.J., said her rising insurance premiums indicate something is broken. The rate was about $25,000 a year when she started practicing medicine about 17 years ago. This year, her premiums were set to increase to about $122,000. She said she opted for a different policy, but her premiums will still rise to about $70,000.

On Wednesday, Schulze will be on one of the more than 80 buses taking doctors to Capitol Hill, where they will rally for caps on the damages that can be awarded in civil lawsuits. They said multimillion dollar awards for non-economic damages, or "pain and suffering," are driving up premiums.

Dr. Donald Palmisano, immediate past president of the American Medical Association, said he had doubts about Public Citizen's data because it came from the federal government's National Practitioner Data Bank, which the General Accountability Office has described as needing major improvements. He said the Physician Insurers Association of America found the median jury verdict award nearly doubled between 1997 and 2003, increasing from $157,000 to $300,000.

Public Citizen said its data showed the median jury verdict in 2004 was $265,000. It is calling for a crackdown on the "small number of physicians" that account for a majority of malpractice claims.

Legislation capping the awards is said to have a majority of support in both the House and Senate, but there is not enough Senate support for the caps to overcome a filibuster.