Lowering Health Care Costs Not Tied to Tort Reform

Barbara O’Brien
March 12 blog

The myth that “tort reform” is key to lowering health care cost is a zombie that won’t die. But we can look at real-world examples to see what happens to health care cost when courthouse doors are closed to ordinary folks.

In 2003, the state of Texas passed a constitutional amendment that restricts medical malpractice claims, capping noneconomic damages at $250,000. This was supposed to make medical insurance more affordable for Texans.

Guess again. Last year the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that Texas ranked third among the states in health insurance premium increases — 40 percent — from 2001 to 2005.

Physicians say that their malpractice premiums are indeed lower. But last year the Texas Academy of Family Physicians was hit with a 23 percent increase in the cost of health insurance for its employees. Not exactly a win/win.

Last month, a Dallas jury awarded $17.7 million to David Fitzgerald, 53. Mr. Fitzgerald had been hospitalized for ulcer surgery when he developed an infection. The infection was not properly treated, and eventually Mr. Fitzgerald had to undergo amputation to save his life. David Fitzgerald lost both legs and both arms because of a treatable infection contracted while he was in a hospital.

And the second travesty is that the $17.7 million — which he could surely use over the many remaining years of his life — was cut by more than half by Texas law. The award included $6.72 million in economic damages and $11 million for pain and suffering. But the $11 million immediately was reduced to $250,000. Because that’s all Texas law says he can have.

Did I mention that health care costs in Texas keep going up, anyway?

In the next post I plan to look at the results of other “tort reform” in Texas that protect corporations from having to pay damages for faulty products and dangerous workplaces — the sorts of cases that involve mesothelioma patients, dying because of exposure to asbestos.

Sources:

Clay Johnson, “Trial Lawyers Get a Break,” the Houston Chronicle, May 4, 2008
Maria M. Perotin, “Dallas amputee wins $17.7 million verdict; Texas law reduces it by more than half,” the Dallas-Fort Worth Star-Telegram, February 18, 2009

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