Have state caps on malpractice awards increased the supply of physicians?
Twenty-seven states have laws that cap payments for noneconomic damages in malpractice cases. In this study we examined whether these laws have increased the supply of physicians, using county-level data from all fifty states from 1985 to 2000. Counties in states with a cap had 2.2 percent more physicians per capita because of the cap, and rural counties in states with a cap had 3.2 percent more physicians per capita. Rural counties in states with a dollar 250,000 cap had 5.4 percent more obstetrician-gynecologists and 5.5 percent more surgical specialists per capita than did rural counties in states with a cap above dollar 250,000.
Encinosa
William E
WE
Center for Delivery, Organization, and Markets, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Rockville, Maryland, USA. wencinos@ahrq.gov
Hellinger
Fred J
FJ
D035881:Compensation and Redress / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006801:Humans; D008318:Malpractice / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D010820:Physicians / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D013219:State Government; D014481:United States