Insurance Blog

When President Obama pledged to address medical malpractice liability concerns as part of healthcare reform, and directed the Department of Health and Human Services to move forward with incentives for states aimed at curbing lawsuits, insurer and doctor groups welcomed the step but cautioned the devil would be in the details of the plan. The details of House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s 1,990-page healthcare bill that passed Saturday on a 220-215 vote underscores the need for that cautionary note. A provision in the bill does establish an incentive program for states to adopt and implement alternatives to medical liability litigation, BUT a state is not eligible for incentive payments if it puts a law on the books that limits attorney fees or imposes caps on damages. A November 6 OpEd in the Washington Times calls the provision a poison pill:
“Fee limits or damage caps are the two most popular lawsuit reforms […]

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Today’s headlines are full of promise on U.S. healthcare reform after the Senate Finance Committee’s milestone vote in favor of a bill crafted by Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) that would overhaul the healthcare system. It’s worth noting that this bill does not address medical liability reform. Last week the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that implementing a typical package of medical liability reform proposals nationwide would reduce total U.S. healthcare spending by about 0.5 percent (about $11 billion in 2009). This figure includes some 0.2 percent in savings from lower direct spending on medical liability premiums and an additional 0.3 percent in indirect savings from slightly less utilization of healthcare services. Overall, enacting medical liability reform proposals would reduce federal government budget deficits by roughly $54 billion over the next 10 years, according to CBO’s analysis. This is something to keep in mind as the healthcare reform debate moves to […]

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