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. 2007 May-Jun;26(3):841-52.
doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.26.3.841.

Malpractice liability costs and the practice of medicine in the Medicare program

Katherine Baicker  1 , Elliott S Fisher, Amitabh Chandra
Affiliations

Malpractice liability costs and the practice of medicine in the Medicare program

Katherine Baicker et al. Health Aff (Millwood). 2007 May-Jun.

Abstract

Mounting malpractice liability costs might affect physician practice patterns in many ways, such as increasing the use of diagnostic procedures while reducing major surgeries. This paper quantifies the association between malpractice liability costs and the use of physician services in Medicare. We find that higher malpractice awards and premiums are associated with higher Medicare spending, especially for imaging services that are often believed to be driven by physicians' fears of malpractice. The 60 percent increase in malpractice premiums between 2000 and 2003 is associated with an increase in total Medicare spending of more than $15 billion.

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References

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    1. We used the term “malpractice liability costs” to refer to both malpractice insurance premiums and the size and number of malpractice judgments and settlements. As discussed below, the term is not intended to imply any specific causal relationship between these components of the malpractice liability environment and physician behavior or the value of services performed.

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