The blame by many republicans and health care providers on the high cost of health care is medical malpractice lawsuits and the perceived threat of one. The arguments is that health care providers have to practice “defensive medicine” ordering more costly diagnostic testing and performing more procedures than they would normally do in order to reduce the risk of potential lawsuits.
They also argue that high medical malpractice awards drive up the cost of medical malpractice insurance making it unaffordable. However, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office did a study of states with their own laws controlling medical malpractice lawsuits and found that last year the savings achieved by limiting medical liability amounted to less than 0.5 percent. It found no proof that limits on medical liability has reduced “defensive medicine”. They found no reduction in expensive and unnecessary test and procedures ordered by doctors to reduce the risk of lawsuits.
Louisiana is one such state that limits medical liability. A qualified health care provider is limited to $100,000 of exposure in a medical malpractice case. The victim of medical negligence is capped at $500,000 plus medical bills in what he can recover no matter what his or her actual losses are. The health care provider is responsible for the first $100,000 and the remaining $400,000 is paid by the Patient Compensation Fund. Capping and eliminating patient’s rights to recover is not the answer. Contact your congressman today and demand they vote NO on medical liability caps.
Richard J. Arsenault, 2011
