More Evidence Tort Reformers Have It All Wrong

A series of articles by top notch researchers provides some solid numbers on the actual costs of medical malpractice. The September 2010 issue of Health Affairs, a highly respected health care policy journal, reports on the cost of various components of the medical malpractice system.

The articles discuss payments received by plaintiffs who have suffered malpractice, attorney fees, the cost of time clinicians lose dealing with med-mal claims, and - most importantly - the costs of defensive medicine practiced by doctors and hospitals. Their research doesn't appear to specifically address costs of medical treatment required to correct the results of the malpractice, although some of that would be reflected in plaintiff awards and settlements.

The researchers conclude that medical malpractice costs about $55.6 billion per year, or 2.4% of all health care spending each year. Here's the interesting part. They estimate that doctors and hospitals practicing defensive medicine - ordering additional tests and taking other steps to justify their actions if they should be sued - amount to $45.6 billion of that total. That's 82% of the total.

If I'm doing my math right, that means that the rest of the cost of medical malpractice - including payments to victims injured by the negligence of doctors and hospitals - is $10 billion a year, or 18% of the total.

Here's the real kicker, though. Even if payments to med-mal victims made up all of that $10 billion - which it doesn't - it would amount to 0.5% of this country's annual health care costs. One-half of one percent! Kind of shoots a hole in the argument of tort reformers who say "skyrocketing" costs of medical malpractice payouts are the main reason for the high cost of health care.

I think this new research shows that tort reformers, who happen to have big profits they're trying to protect, should stop focusing on taking away your rights to be compensated for being injured by negligence. Instead, they should focus on weeding out the doctors and hospitals that commit malpractice so there's no need to pay victims in the first place.