Medical Malpractice and the U.S. Health Care System

by Edited by William M. Sage , Rogan Kersh

• ISBN13: 9780521849326
• ISBN10: 0521849322
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-06-19
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Medical malpractice lawsuits are common and controversial in the United States. Since early 2002, doctors' insurance premiums for malpractice coverage have soared. As Congress and state governments debate laws intended to stabilize the cost of insurance, doctors continue to blame lawyers and lawyers continue to blame doctors and insurance companies. This book, which is the capstone of three years' comprehensive research funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, goes well beyond the conventional debate over tort reform and connects medical liability to broader trends and goals in American health policy. Contributions from leading figures in health law and policy marshal the best available information, present new empirical evidence, and offer cutting-edge analysis of potential reforms involving patient safety, liability insurance, and tort litigation.

Table of Contents

List of Contributors	vii
Introduction	1	(10)
William M. Sage and Rogan Kersh
PART ONE: FRAMING MEDICAL MALPRACTICE AS A HEALTH POLICY ISSUE
1. The Medical Malpractice System: Structure and Performance	11	(19)
Michelle M. Mello and David M. Studdert
2. Malpractice Reform as a Health Policy Problem	30	(13)
William M. Sage
3. Medical Malpractice and the New Politics of Health Care	43	(28)
Rogan Kersh
PART TWO: THE HEALTH POLICY IMPACT OF MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
4. Who Pays When Malpractice Premiums Rise?	71	(13)
Mark V. Pauly
5. The Effects of the U.S. Malpractice System on the Cost and Quality of Care	84	(9)
David J. Becker and Daniel P. Kessler
6. Liability, Patient Safety, and Defensive Medicine: What Does the Future Hold?	93	(22)
Troyen A. Brennan, Michelle M. Mello, and David M. Studdert
7. Medical Liability and the Culture of Technology	115	(22)
Peter D. Jacobson
PART THREE: MALPRACTICE REFORMS THAT SOLVE THE RIGHT PROBLEMS
8. Promoting Fairness in the Medical Malpractice System	137	(17)
Maxwell J. Mehlman
9. Caps and the Construction of Damages in Medical Malpractice Cases	154	(19)
Catherine M. Sharkey
10. Expertise and the Legal Process	173	(18)
Catherine T. Struve
11. Disclosure and Fair Resolution of Adverse Events	191	(28)
Carol B. Liebman and Chris Stern Hyman
PART FOUR: IN SEARCH OF A "NEW PARADIGM"
12. Enterprise Liability in the Twenty-First Century	219	(26)
Randall R. Bovbjerg and Robert Berenson
13. Private Contractual Alternatives to Malpractice Liability	245	(22)
Jennifer Arlen
14. Medical Malpractice Insurance Reform: "Enterprise Insurance" and Some Alternatives	267	(24)
Tom Baker
15. Governments as Insurers in Professional and Hospital Liability Insurance Markets	291	(27)
Frank A. Sloan and Charles E. Eesley
16. Medicare-Led Malpractice Reform	318	(33)
William M. Sage and Eleanor D. Kinney
Bibliography	351	(38)
Index	389