The governor and physicians celebrated the law Monday, its 10-year anniversary. The law allowed lawmakers to cap certain damages for medical malpractice lawsuits and addressed a growing level of discontent among Texas physicians. Hundreds of physicians in Rio Grande Valley, for instance, scheduled walkouts to protest what they found to be an exorbitant number of civil lawsuits and high malpractice rates, according to the report.
Since its passage, a number of Republican politicians have sited Texas’ law as a model for tort reform.
The Texas Medical Association pointed to survey numbers showing physicians’ positive responses toward the law. Other physicians say the law helped make Texas a more attractive place to practice medicine, rather than a “judicial hellhole,” according to the report.
The law still has its critics, however, and some findings have pointed out its shortcomings. A study reported by the Austin-American Statesman in 2012, for example, found no evidence of decreased healthcare costs for consumers, despite promises that tort reform would do just that. Opponents also say the malpractice caps infringe on patients’ rights, whereas others say medical malpractice costs are exaggerated when it comes to nationwide, total spend. One law and health science professor at the University of Pennsylvania estimated in 2009 that medical malpractice costs made up less than 2 percent of total medical costs, for instance.
Gov. Perry dismissed the criticism, however: “I’m just continually surprised that some people still want to argue that, you know, tort reform didn’t work when the facts and the figures are just overwhelming. They are swimming upstream against a flood of facts and data that prove otherwise,” he said at the event.
More Articles on Tort Reform:
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New Hampshire Governor Vetoes “Early Offer” Malpractice Reform Bill
