A recent report by advocacy group Public Citizen suggests that medical malpractice liability caps may not reduce healthcare costs and may decrease access to healthcare services, according to a news release by the group.
The study, "A Failed Experiment: Health Care in Texas Has Worsened in Key Respects Since State Instituted Liability Caps in 2003," analyzed costs and availability of healthcare in Texas after the state imposed a $250,000 cap on non-economic damages for medical malpractice cases and found that, after the caps, healthcare costs rose while access decreased. Specifically, since the state instituted the cap, Medicare spending grew 13 percent faster than the national average, while private health insurance premiums rose just slightly faster (51.7 percent) than the national average (50 percent). In terms of access, the per capita increase in practicing physicians in the state has slowed to less than half its rate in the years leading up to the caps. The per capita number of primary care physicians in the state has remained flat.
Tom "Smitty" Smith, director of Public Citizen's Texas office, said of the results, "This report shows that the rest of the nation should not hold up Texas as a model."
The report, however, did not address additional factors that may have contributed to the changes in healthcare pricing and access.
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The study, "A Failed Experiment: Health Care in Texas Has Worsened in Key Respects Since State Instituted Liability Caps in 2003," analyzed costs and availability of healthcare in Texas after the state imposed a $250,000 cap on non-economic damages for medical malpractice cases and found that, after the caps, healthcare costs rose while access decreased. Specifically, since the state instituted the cap, Medicare spending grew 13 percent faster than the national average, while private health insurance premiums rose just slightly faster (51.7 percent) than the national average (50 percent). In terms of access, the per capita increase in practicing physicians in the state has slowed to less than half its rate in the years leading up to the caps. The per capita number of primary care physicians in the state has remained flat.
Tom "Smitty" Smith, director of Public Citizen's Texas office, said of the results, "This report shows that the rest of the nation should not hold up Texas as a model."
The report, however, did not address additional factors that may have contributed to the changes in healthcare pricing and access.
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