| As the healthcare debate intensifies, many in | | | | insurance, the same way you pay monthly |
| Congress are calling for a tightening of medical | | | | premiums for automobile insurance. In recent |
| malpractice awards. There is currently no national | | | | years, these premiums have been on the steady |
| restrictions to how much can be awarded by | | | | rise, and many have been quick to attribute this |
| juries in cases of medical malpractice, which | | | | rise in costs to high jury verdicts in malpractice |
| occasionally results in awards of $10 million or | | | | suits. |
| above. Some lawmakers argue that these awards | | | | According to a 2005 article in the Boston Globe, |
| result in higher costs for malpractice insurance, | | | | the rising malpractice premiums are due to a lack |
| which further drive up the costs of healthcare. | | | | of investment returns, rather than the cost of |
| They propose putting a $250,000 cap on jury | | | | the lawsuits themselves. Malpractice insurance |
| awards in such cases, as a way of keeping | | | | companies also make money by investing in the |
| payouts manageable. Opponents, however, say | | | | stock market, and when their stock portfolios |
| that this will not affect healthcare costs at large | | | | aren't making money, they have to look to other |
| and would instead punish those who are already | | | | revenue streams to compensate. |
| injured. | | | | Taken as a whole, malpractice awards have been |
| The Cost of Jury Awards | | | | rising in accordance with the overall costs of |
| While seeing large awards granted to the victims | | | | healthcare. The difficulty with putting a cap on |
| of malpractice may seem alarming, the amount | | | | malpractice awards is that "pain and suffering" is |
| awarded by juries is actually a small drop in the | | | | difficult to quantify. While it's easy to come up |
| very large bucket of overall healthcare costs. | | | | with a price tag for the medical costs, it's difficult |
| Doctors' groups often fight for limits on | | | | to ascribe a dollar-and-cents compensation for |
| malpractice, but studies have shown that the cost | | | | someone who has lost an arm or will never be |
| of malpractice insurance is actually not entirely | | | | able to walk again. Many healthcare specialists |
| tied to malpractice verdicts, and that the verdicts | | | | argue that putting a cap on awards will actually |
| aren't responsible for the rise in malpractice | | | | hurt the people most injured by shoddy |
| insurance premiums. | | | | healthcare. |
| Doctors almost always have malpractice insurance | | | | If you have any questions about healthcare |
| which specifically covers the costs of malpractice | | | | litigation, visit the Philadelphia medical malpractice |
| suits. They pay monthly premiums for this | | | | attorneys of Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C. |