Book Review: The Malpractice Myth by Tom Baker
Summary:
The Malpractice Myth by Tom Baker exposes the problem of high-cost healthcare services by insurance companies due to legal liability, profit incentives, and market competition. Stereotypically, the problem of medical malpractice is often blamed on patient litigation and tort law, which is proven false in Baker’s (2007) analysis. Baker (2007) defines the two factors of (1) increased medical malpractice (with decreased lawsuits) and (2) healthcare rate hikes in the healthcare industry as the primary culprit for high healthcare costs.
Discussion:
Tom Baker’s (2007) motive for writing this book is to debunk the myth of legal mitigation for medical malpractice as the primary reason for the failure of insurance companies to provide affordable and effective healthcare services. The high cost of …show more content…
However, Baker (2007) breaks down the use of tort law as a premise for insurance companies to raise fees for healthcare services: “They [doctors] are afraid of lawyers and lawsuits” (p.66). However, it is the doctors (being sued) and the patient (getting poor healthcare) that take the burden of the cost for malpractice suits, which takes the majority of the financial burden off of the insurance companies in this market-driven process: “Liability insurance goes through boom and bust cycle, insurance companies take a pessimistic view of future losses…Toward the end of the cycle, they take an increasingly optimistic view and do not set aside enough services” (Baker, 2007, p.66). In this manner, insurance companies are often the primary culprit in raising the price of healthcare and preventing adequate services, which has very little to do with blaming tort law and malpractice litigation in a for-profit healthcare
Summary:
The Malpractice Myth by Tom Baker exposes the problem of high-cost healthcare services by insurance companies due to legal liability, profit incentives, and market competition. Stereotypically, the problem of medical malpractice is often blamed on patient litigation and tort law, which is proven false in Baker’s (2007) analysis. Baker (2007) defines the two factors of (1) increased medical malpractice (with decreased lawsuits) and (2) healthcare rate hikes in the healthcare industry as the primary culprit for high healthcare costs.
Discussion:
Tom Baker’s (2007) motive for writing this book is to debunk the myth of legal mitigation for medical malpractice as the primary reason for the failure of insurance companies to provide affordable and effective healthcare services. The high cost of …show more content…
However, Baker (2007) breaks down the use of tort law as a premise for insurance companies to raise fees for healthcare services: “They [doctors] are afraid of lawyers and lawsuits” (p.66). However, it is the doctors (being sued) and the patient (getting poor healthcare) that take the burden of the cost for malpractice suits, which takes the majority of the financial burden off of the insurance companies in this market-driven process: “Liability insurance goes through boom and bust cycle, insurance companies take a pessimistic view of future losses…Toward the end of the cycle, they take an increasingly optimistic view and do not set aside enough services” (Baker, 2007, p.66). In this manner, insurance companies are often the primary culprit in raising the price of healthcare and preventing adequate services, which has very little to do with blaming tort law and malpractice litigation in a for-profit healthcare