NU Online News Service, Sept. 14, 2:13 p.m.EDT

WASHINGTON–A trade group representing medicalprofessional liability insurance companies pointed to a new studyindicating that physicians practicing defense medicine cost theU.S. health system $45 billion annually.

The Physician Insurers Association of America said the study inthe September 2010 issue of Health Affairs also found that totalcosts related to medical liability account for more than $55billion, and the practice of defense medicine constituted 80percent of that cost.

"This study supports our contention that reformation of themedical liability system would result in notable savings forAmericans," said Lawrence E. Smarr, president of the PIAA.

Mr. Smarr brought up the study in urging that Congress take uptort reform as a means of curbing the current soaring cost ofmedical care.

"The Congressional Budget Office studied tort reform legislationlast year and reported similar findings in terms of cost savingsfor federal health care programs," he said.

"Given the continued escalation of expenses related to theprovision of health care at both the public and privatelevel–especially as these costs relate to the practice of defensivemedicine–we believe it would be prudent for the government toreexamine the impact of medical liability reform on health carecosts," he said.

"Opponents of medical liability reform continue to trivializethese savings–but the fact is that a potential $55 billion a yearin cost reductions is far from insignificant," he noted.

Mr. Smarr said that the vast majority of lawsuits against healthcare providers–while rampant–are found to be meritless.

For example, he said, recent PIAA data shows that 65 percent ofmedical professional liability claims were dropped, dismissed, orwithdrawn–and the defense prevailed in 90 percent of the cases thatwere resolved by trial.

However, it still costs nearly $120,000 per claim to defend eachof these meritless cases, Mr. Smarr said.

"This money could be better used to improve patient safetypractices or compensate patients who have suffered actual damages,"he said.

"The bottom line is that the current litigious climate limitspatient access to care and has led to a significant increase in theoverall cost of health care," he said.

"This is clearly a problem that needs to be addressed–and webelieve that tort reform is the right solution."