Published January 16, 2005

Tort reform: Instead, reduce medical errors

President Bush has asked Congress to cap damage awards for victims of medical malpractice. The assumption is caps will reduce frivolous lawsuits responsible for increasing doctors' insurance premiums and driving them out of business. Bush also has said that high malpractice rates drive up the cost of health care.

Some suits are frivolous. And it's true that some physicians in specialties such as obstetrics/gynecology and neurosurgery pay outrageously high malpractice premiums. But capping award damages on wronged patients won't necessarily help those doctors. Even if insurance companies save money, there's no guarantee that savings will be passed on to doctors through lower premiums. Caps won't help patients by substantially lowering or stabilizing health-care costs. Malpractice-insurance premiums account for less than 2 percent of the nation's health-care spending.

If Congress really wants reduce the number of lawsuits people file against doctors, they should work to reduce the medical errors that cause them.

Nearly 100,000 people are injured or die each year due to medical errors. Fewer errors mean fewer lawsuits. Medical errors could be reduced by mandating that hospitals implement computer systems that monitor medications and reduce mistakes. Hospitals and doctors should be required to fully, publicly disclose medical errors, which would weed out negligent doctors. Regulation of the insurance industry should better ensure doctors aren't getting gouged on premiums while insurance companies grow wealthier. Creating independent review boards to screen complaints should be explored.

If lawmakers are honest about reducing frivolous lawsuits, they should pursue more promising measures than capping damages in cases the courts determine aren't frivolous.