The Truth About Malpractice Lawsuits

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Joy125

Posted Thursday, September 17, 2009 1:47 PM

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FROM BUSINESSWEEK.COM

September 16, 2009

The Truth About Malpractice Lawsuits

Doctors say the suits send health-care costs soaring, but studies show reforms would have little effect

by Catherine Arnst

President Barack Obama tapped into a large vein of public support when he suggested recently that he is open to reforming medical malpractice laws. It's common currency in the U.S. that litigation drives medical inflation by forcing doctors and hospitals to resort to "defensive medicine," overtreating patients to avoid lawsuits.

The evidence suggests a much smaller effect. Study after study shows that costs associated with malpractice lawsuits make up 1% to 2% of the nation's $2.5 trillion annual health-care bill and that tort reform would barely make a dent in the total.

A comprehensive new report from Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management, using a database of employer-sponsored health plans covering 10 million Americans, looked at the impact of tort reform measures already enacted in more than 30 states. The authors concluded that comprehensive, nationwide reforms would lower overall health-care costs by 2.3% at most. "That's significant, of course, but still fairly small," says Kellogg professor Leemore S. Dafny, a co-author of the study. As President Obama told a joint session of Congress on Sept. 9: "I don't believe malpractice reform is a silver bullet."

To read complete article see:

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_39/b4148030880703.htm

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