A study suggests malpractice litigation and defensive medicine play “small roles” in the cost of health care
“While medical malpractice is a problem, its costs account for less than
1% of spending. And defensive medicine, where doctors run tests or do
procedures to lower their chances of being sued, makes up no more than 9% of total spending, the study of spending in 30 nations found.”
It is not the lawsuits themselves that play a role in increasing health costs, but the defensive practices that are routinely done to prevent them. The article downplays its role, but 9% sounds like a significant number to me.
