Thursday, July 17, 2008

The Other Crisis Affecting Health Care

John Joseph Leppard IV, who blogs at Healthcare Manumission, says there is an insurance affecting health care in America:

"'I'm referring to malpractice liability insurance. Although generally considered an issue which affects just the small, "elite" physician community, the current state of malpractice liability insurance has far reaching implications which are significant and consequential to the entire state of the American health care system."

Malpractice insurance is a factor, he argues, even though few disputes go so far as to result in an award for the plaintiffs. Defending a charge can cost anywhere from $25,000 to $90,000, and sometimes more, he says.

The results of soaring costs: some doctors leave the practice. Others change their ways of providing medicine--and not always to the benefit of anyone.