Have state caps on malpractice awards increased the supply of physicians?

Twenty-seven states have laws that cap payments for noneconomic damages in malpractice cases. In this study we examined whether these laws have increased the supply of physicians, using county-level data from all fifty states from 1985 to 2000. Counties in states with a cap had 2.2 percent more phys...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Health affairs (Millwood, Va.) Vol. Suppl Web Exclusives; pp. W5 - 250-W5-258
Main Authors: Encinosa, William E, Hellinger, Fred J
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States 01-01-2005
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Summary:Twenty-seven states have laws that cap payments for noneconomic damages in malpractice cases. In this study we examined whether these laws have increased the supply of physicians, using county-level data from all fifty states from 1985 to 2000. Counties in states with a cap had 2.2 percent more physicians per capita because of the cap, and rural counties in states with a cap had 3.2 percent more physicians per capita. Rural counties in states with a dollar 250,000 cap had 5.4 percent more obstetrician-gynecologists and 5.5 percent more surgical specialists per capita than did rural counties in states with a cap above dollar 250,000.
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ISSN:0278-2715