GAO FINDS MEDICAL MALPRACTICE PREMIUM GROWTH SLOWER IN STATES WITH TORT REFORM LAWS

Washington, DC, September 03, 2003 -- The U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) released a report last week that indicates growth in medical malpractice premiums and claims payments has been slower in states that enacted tort reform laws that include limits on noneconomic damages.

The report, Implications of Rising Premiums on Access to Health Care (GAO -03-836), showed that between 2001 and 2002, “average premiums for three physician specialties—general surgery, internal medicine, and obstetrics/gynecology—grew by about 10 percent in states with caps on noneconomic damages of $250,000, compared to about 29 percent in states with limited reforms.”

“The report confirms what’ we’ve been saying all along, that limits on noneconomic damages are helping to curb the rising cost of liability insurance for health care providers,” said American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) President Sherman Joyce. “

The cost of claims has been forcing doctors to give up specialty practices, move across state lines to fairer litigation environments or get out of practice altogether. This year, 9 states have enacted medical liability reforms and another 17 have considered or are still considering legislation.

The report further confirmed instances of reduced access to hospital-based services affecting emergency surgery and newborn deliveries in scattered, often rural, areas. Although the report fell short of concluding there is a “widespread” problem with access to health care, it did include comments from the American Medical Association (AMA) concerning the scope of the study limiting the GAO’s ability to “fully identify the extent to which malpractice-related pressures are affecting consumers’ access to health care.”

The GAO noted in a July report (GAO-03-702) that “losses on medical malpractice claims—which make up the largest part of insurers’ costs—appear to be the primary driver of rate increases in the long run.” Both reports are available here.

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The American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) is the only national organization dedicated exclusively to tort and liability reform through public education and the enactment of legislation. ATRA's membership includes non profits, small and large companies, as well as state and national trade, business, and professional associations.