Why do people criticize Malpractice Lawsuits, when these lawsuits account for less than 2% of all Health Care?

Question

People point fingers at lawyers for our rising health care costs, but is this fair? My Points, and sources are below.

-Malpractice costs amounted to “less than 2 percent of overall health care spending. Thus, even a reduction of 25 percent to 30 percent in malpractice costs would lower health care costs by only about 0.4 percent to 0.5 percent, and the likely effect on health insurance premiums would be comparably small.” [Congressional Budget Office, “Limiting Tort Liability for Medical Malpractice,” 1/08/04]

-Medical errors kill as many as 98,000 Americans every year and cost as much as $29 billion, according to the Institute of Medicine. Other research suggests that the human toll may be far higher, with preventable errors and negligence taking the lives of 195,000 people each year. [“To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System,” Institute of Medicine, 2000; “Patient Safety in American Hospitals,” HealthGrades, July 2004, www.healthgrades.com]

Answer 1

More kool-aid from the right. Remember tort-reform was supposed to reign in skyrocketing health costs. Well, it didn't.

Answer 2

It causes the Malpractice insurance fees to go up making less poeple want to have the coverage and Be a Dr.............

Answer 3

I hope my family doctor who knows me and I have been going to since I wasa child never gets sued and put out of business. How about you?