Medical Liability Reform

The Role of Medical Liability Reform in Federal Health Care Reform

Michelle M. Mello, J.D., Ph.D., M.Phil., and Troyen A. Brennan, M.D., J.D., M.P.H.

Although enthusiasm for health care reform is resounding in Washington these days, the specific shape reform will take and the compromises that will have to be made along the way are opaque. Currently, much of the discussion centers on possibilities for insurance mandates, a public insurance plan modeled after Medicare, and the methods that will be used to control costs.¹ Many other issues will have to be addressed, including physician payment reform, the future of Medicare Advantage, providers' participation in public programs, the role of expansions of Medicaid, and of course, the funding mechanism for any increase in government expenditures. A further question is whether the reform package should include reforms to the medical liability system, which is often blamed for contributing to rising health care costs./.../