Tort Reform Myths: Doctors Are Leaving
Another of the many myths that have enabled tort reform is the claim that doctors are leaving certain areas due to skyrocketing insurance prices. The simple truth is, the number of practicing physicians in the United States is increasing, and is higher than it has ever been before. While there may occasionally be a correlation between physicians moving in and out of areas and insurance rates, does this represent causation? More likely, this correlation is the by-product of worker mobility that affects every job market in this country. Further, the U.S. General Accounting Office has analyzed medical malpractice insurance and its causes. In it’s 2003 report, the G.A.O. stated that “doctors’ groups have misled and fabricated evidence, or, at the very least, wildly overstated their case about how medical negligence problems have limited access to healthcare.” Additionally, the G.A.O. report revealed that the reported cases of doctors leaving were “inaccurate or involve relatively few physicians.” Thus, this claim seems to be more smoke and mirrors to blind the general public to what tort reform is really about.
