Tort Reform Ways For Cheaper Health Care

It may not be too late for future real health care reform.

I have previously noted a way to make health care cheaper, without ruining the entire system with a socialized version.

A way to cut costs sharply would be to reducing provider costs. Physicians and hospitals tell you this could be done if they would be able to curtail defensive practices.

The accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers says that about 10% of medical expense is attributable to medical malpractice lawsuits. Only about 2% is caused by direct lawsuit costs.

Add to that about 5% to 9%, due to MDs having to practice defensive medicine. That is, they add tests in case a plaintiff lawyer asks them in court: Questions such as “Why didn’t you do this procedure…?”