[October 24, 2014] |
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PIAA Praises Study from Health Affairs on Impact of Medical Liability Damage Caps
ROCKVILLE, Md. --(Business Wire)--
PIAA, the nation's leading association representing the medical
professional liability (MPL) insurance community with a commitment to
the quality delivery of healthcare, commented today on a new study
supported by the RAND Institute for Civil Justice, the National
Institute on Aging, and the National Institutes of Health and released
by Health Affairs. The study examined the impact of medical
liability reforms-specifically, noneconomic damage caps-on the average
size of MPL claim payments, and also compared how the impact differs
according to the dollar amount of the cap.
"This study sheds critical light on the fact that MPL reforms work well
in keeping costs down and promoting greater access to healthcare,"
stated Brian K. Atchinson, president and CEO, PIAA. "In states without
medical liability reform, the healthcare system is excessively
expensive. Sensible reforms like a $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages
are necessary to ensure that our healthcare resources are directed
toward providing care to patients"
"We found that, overall, noneconomic damage caps reduced average
payments by $42,980 (15 percent), compared to havng no cap at all,"
stated the study authors. "A $250,000 cap reduced average payments by
$59,331 (20 percent), and a $500,000 cap had no significant effect,
compared to no cap at all."
Among the researcher's conclusions:
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The moderation in nationwide MPL claim payments coincided with the
implementation of MPL reforms. "The national average payment
stabilization appears to coincide with increases in the number of
states with noneconomic damage caps in 2003," said the study authors.
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The findings are relevant to ongoing policy debates about the size of
noneconomic damage caps. According to the study authors, "A proposed
ballot initiative in California would raise the noneconomic damages
cap from $250,000 to $1.1 million. This would exceed the typical
policy limit… and would effectively eliminate the cap for the majority
of cases."
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Noneconomic damage caps are particularly effective for medical
specialties with high average-payment sizes, such as pediatrics and
obstetrics.
Data for the study were obtained from the PIAA Data Sharing Project
(DSP), the largest ongoing, independent, MPL claims database. The DSP
was essential to this new, more focused, and detailed analysis.
Researchers analyzed more than 200,000 claims, which represent
approximately one-fourth of medical liability claims in the United
States.
"We need to continue our work in supporting an environment that allows
physicians and other healthcare providers to practice the best possible
medicine in the interests of their patients," said Atchinson.
"Noneconomic damage caps of $250,000, such as those contained in the
landmark California MICRA reforms, are critical to improving the
liability climate for those who provide healthcare."
PIAA is the nation's leading association representing medical
professional liability insurance companies, risk retention groups,
captives, trusts, and other entities with a commitment to the
quality delivery of healthcare. PIAA members insure more than
two-thirds of America's private practicing physicians and 3,000
hospitals, as well as dentists, nurses, nurse practitioners, and other
healthcare professionals.
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