Some Quick and "Fun" Facts
December 6, 2009
· Medical malpractice is a tiny percentage of health care costs – less than one and a half percent of overall spending – according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Restricting patients’ legal rights would have little to no effect on premiums or health care costs.
· Medical malpractice suits are less than one percent of the entire civil caseload, and have been declining for nearly a decade.
· The GAO and CBO have found no evidence of so-called “defensive medicine,” instead determining that doctors run additional tests to generate more income or help diagnose patients.
