title: The impact of state laws limiting malpractice damage awards on health care expenditures.
abstract: Twenty-eight states have laws that limit payments in malpractice cases, and several studies indicate that these laws reduce the frequency and severity of malpractice claims and lower premiums. Moreover, proponents believe that such laws reduce health care expenditures by reducing the practice of defensive medicine. However, there is a dearth of empirical evidence about the impact of these laws on the cost of health care. We used multivariate models and relatively recent data to estimate the impact of state tort reform laws that directly limit malpractice damage payments on health care expenditures. Estimates from these models suggest that laws limiting malpractice payments lower state health care expenditures by between 3% and 4%.
authors.affiliation: Center for Delivery, Organization, and Markets, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD 20850, USA. fhelling@ahrq.gov
authors.forename: Fred J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Hellinger
authors.forename: William E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Encinosa
mesh_terms: D035881:Compensation and Redress / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D003363:Cost Control / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D003675:Defensive Medicine / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D036262:Empirical Research; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends*; D005102:Health Expenditures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends*; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D016365:Liability, Legal / Q000191:economics*; D008318:Malpractice / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D017059:Models, Econometric; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011640:Public Policy; D013219:State Government; D014481:United States