Priceless: Curing the Healthcare Crisis (Independent Studies in Political Economy) by Goodman John C

Author:Goodman, John C. [Goodman, John C.]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Independent Publishers Group
Published: 2012-06-01T04:00:00+00:00

Some have proposed making the hospital fully responsible for all malpractice claims, but that doesn't work very well when none of the other parties to the medical incident are hospital employees. Under the proposal envisioned here, all parties to a surgical event, for instance, would have strong incentives to contract with each other and cooperate with each other on error-reducing, quality-improving changes (including electronic medical records and hospital infection reduction procedures). The incentives would be to avoid the current tort system, to offer the patient a contract insured by a single insurer and to minimize the cost of that insurance.

Patients will receive cash compensation for unexpected outcomes without the stress or expense of a lawsuit

The loss of a loved one is a traumatic event. The prospect of filing a malpractice lawsuit is also inherently stressful and traumatic. The compensation system envisioned here would put doctors and patients on the same side, with only one obligation—completing the paperwork needed to collect from an insurance company.

Patients and their families could self-insure for additional compensation

How much should a surviving spouse receive for the death of a loved one? The decision will, to a certain extent, be arbitrary—especially if made by a legislative body. However, if the amount is publicized in advance and broadly known, families can make adjustments to meet their expected needs. If the amount is too low, for example, families could buy additional life or disability insurance on their own—including (as described above) insurance under the provider's insurance contract.

The social cost of a liability-by-contract system is likely to be much lower than the cost of the current system

As many as 187,000 people die each year because of adverse medical events. If the surviving family members of these patients each received a check for $200,000, the total cost would be less than $37 billion. The total cost of the current malpractice system is estimated to be as much as $250 billion, or more than five times as much.

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