Todd N. Hendrickson Blog

We’ve all heard the talking heads and seen the news stories: “There are too many frivolous lawsuits,” “doctors are fleeing because of malpractice suits,” and “malpractice claims have driven up health care costs.” The fact is, these are simple myths touted by the insurance industry to frighten us so that we help them to remain as the most profitable industry in the country.A new paper by the American Association for Justice debunks these myths.For example:Myth: Malpractice claims drive up health care costs.Truth: The total cost of paying and defending malpractice claims is less than 1% of the cost of health care–in fact, .3%.Myth: Doctors are fleeing/Truth: According to the AMA the number of doctors is continually increasing, not decreasing.Myth: Tort reform will lower doctor’s insurance premiums.TruthL Tort reform has never resulted in lower premiums for doctors. What it has resulted in is increasingly larger profits for insurance companies.Know the truth about the malpractice myths.