title: Malpractice litigation and medical costs in the United States.
abstract: This paper examines the relationship of medical malpractice litigation and medical costs in the United States. We relate medical malpractice settlements to medical costs for 190 metro and non-metro areas in the United States over a 5-year period and find that litigation is positively and significantly related to medical costs. Using a panel data set and a fixed-effects specification, the estimates indicate that malpractice litigation accounts for roughly 2-10% of medical expenditures, with the impact exceeding the dollar amount of settlements.
authors.affiliation: Premier Insights, Inc., Canton, MS 39046, USA. brandon@premierinsights.com
authors.forename: Brandon
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.forename: Irving
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hoch
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D035881:Compensation and Redress / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis / Q000379:methods; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D008318:Malpractice / Q000191:economics*; D015233:Models, Statistical; D014481:United States