Marathon Pundit: Durbin wrongly cites CBO report claiming tort reform will kill Americans

Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Durbin wrongly cites CBO report claiming tort reform will kill Americans

Illinois Democrats are in a "killer" mood these days. In a futile attempt to repeal half of the hated "corruption tax," Cook County Board President Todd Stroger the lower sales tax would cause "some people will die needlessly."

In Washington, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), who opposes adding tort reform to the Democrats' plan for government-run health care, joined the death spiral:

That means that if The Hatch Proposal were applied nationwide, according to the C.B.O. and this cited study, 4,853 more Americans would be killed each year by medical malpractice. This is a C.B.O. report. Or more than 48,000 Americans over a ten-year period of time that the C.B.O. examines. So Iif you accept their projection on the savings for medical malpractice reform asked for by Senator Hatch, you cannot escape the fact that they say, yes, you'll save money but more Americans will die. (Sen. Dick Durbin, Floor Remarks, 12/2/09)

However...Let's see what the Congressional Budget Office really says.

CBO: Three Studies "Concluded That Tort Reform Generated No Significant Adverse Outcomes For Patients’ Health."

CBO: There is less evidence about the effects of tort reform on people's health, however, than about its effects on health care spending – because many studies of malpractice costs do not examine health outcomes. … Kessler and Mcclellan (1996 and 2002) and Sloan and Shadle (2009) concluded that tort reform generated no significant adverse outcomes for patients' health. There is less evidence about the effects of tort reform on people's health, however, than about its effects on health care spending – because many studies of malpractice costs do not examine health outcomes. Some recent research has found that tort reform may adversely affect such outcomes, but other studies have concluded otherwise. Lakdawalla and Seabury (2009) found that a 10 percent reduction in costs related to medical malpractice liability would increase the nation's overall mortality rate by 0.2 percent. However, Kessler and McClellan (1996 and 2002) and Sloan and Shadle (2009) concluded that tort reform generated no significant adverse outcomes for patients' health. (Douglas Elmendorf, CBO Director, Letter To Sen. Hatch, P.5 10/9/09)