Columnists oppose tort reform.
With the recent press about health care reform, the issue of tort reform is once again at the forefront. As a medical malpractice lawyer, I want to expel the incorrect notion that litigation is the primary cause of the rising cost in health care. Several columns around the country have addressed this issue, and a few were summarized in a recent AAJ news brief.
For example, the Kansas City Star (8/28, Margolies) touched on the issue of tort reform and noted “the push for tort reform rests largely on anecdotal evidence of the occasional large jury verdict or outrageous lawsuit.” The column further went on to state that although the perception of “jackpot justice” had fueled rising healthcare costs, data produces a different picture. According to the column, the “most reliable estimates peg the cost of malpractice litigation at 2 percent of overall health care costs.” Therefore, the tort system is, at best, only a small contributor to the larger problems with healthcare.
The most important issue that must be addressed is the equity and affordability of healthcare. Since there is reliable data that “even when states have capped medical malpractice awards, and malpractice suits have dwindled to near zero, insurance companies have not reduced the premiums they charge doctors” (Green Bay Press, 8/29, Fagin). Therefore, perhaps more attention should focus at eliminating a larger problem at the source by targeting the insurance industry for reform.
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