At the Intersection of Health, Health Care and Policy Cite this article as: Mike Stinson and Katie Orrico Malpractice Suits And Federal Liability Reform Health Affairs, 32, no.11 (2013):2058 doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2013.1096

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doi:

10.1377/hlthaff.2013.1096

Malpractice Suits And Federal Liability Reform Emily Carrier and coauthors provide evidence that physicians’ increased medical liability risk leads to more aggressive practice of defensive medicine and that comprehensive medical liability reform must be undertaken to reduce this practice (Aug 2013). However, we disagree with their conclusion that liability reforms at the state level have been unsuccessful in reducing the use of unnecessary medical tests and procedures. The noted researchers Daniel Kessler and Mark McClellan have found repeated evidence that fewer hospital procedures that did not improve health and that were performed defensively occurred in states that included reasonable limits on noneconomic damages in their medical liability laws. 1 Furthermore, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has found that total Medicare spending per beneficiary was 4 percent lower in states with limits on noneconomic damages than in states without limits, pointing to the obvious impact that defensive medicine has on health care costs. 2 Recent research also provides con-

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vincing evidence that the supply of physicians is larger and patients’ access to care improved in areas where physicians are under less pressure from the liability system, because of the enactment of traditional medical liability reform provisions—including limits on noneconomic damages. 3 Nonetheless, because a patchwork of medical liability laws exists throughout the country, and efforts continue to make state-level liability reforms less effective, comprehensive reform at the federal level is required before physicians will believe that they can eliminate the practice of defensive medicine without the constant threat of meritless liability lawsuits. Mike Stinson and Katie Orrico Health Coalition on Liability and Access WASHINGTON , D . C . NOTES 1 Kessler DP, McClellan M. Do doctors practice defensive medicine? Q J Econ. 1996;111(2): 353–90. 2 Congressional Budget Office. Medical malpractice tort limits and health care spending. Washington (DC): CBO; 2006 Apr. (Background Paper). 3 American Medical Association. Medical liability reform now! The facts you need to know to address the broken medical liability system [Internet]. Chicago (IL): AMA; 2013 [cited 2013 Aug 16]. Available from: http://www.ama-assn .org/resources/doc/arc/mlr-now.pdf

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Malpractice suits and federal liability reform.

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