NU Online News Service, June 6, 1:20 p.m. EDT
The new federal Affordable Care Act could potentially have a positive effect on medical malpractice liability, actuaries were told at a recent Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) Seminar on Reinsurance.
According to a CAS statement, John Mize, consulting actuary at Towers Watson, told attendees that some provisions of the law emphasize value-based compensation programs.
Since hospitals will get penalized if they have a large proportion of re-admissions, this may motivate them to provide better care, which would result in more favorable outcomes and fewer claims, Mr. Mize said.
Paul Fields, vice president, underwriting at Odyssey Re, said that accountable care coordinating programs that are jointly managed by hospitals and physicians have the potential to create a "smoother continuum of care."
In addition, panelists noted some factors that have improved medical malpractice loss experience in recent years.
Mr. Mize said that over the years, hospitals have been looking at where their most expensive claims were occurring and creating loss prevention activities to reduce those risks.
Additionally, plaintiff attorneys have become more selective about their cases because of the high cost of litigation, which has helped to decrease costs, Mr. Mize noted.
CAS said that the panelists also noted the potential negative effects of the health care reform law, including the short-term potential for the primary care network to be overburdened.
Physicians could become more leveraged and increase their reliance on physician assistants, causing less-trained care providers to look at more complicated health issues, according to the CAS statement.
Mr. Fields said that the administrative burden on physicians may also increase and that testing may even be cut back if there is pressure to try to reduce costs, he added.
The CAS seminar was held in New York City. The panel was moderated by Kelly A. Salmon, an actuarial associate for Guy Carpenter.
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