Medical Malpractice Costs U.S. $55.6 Billion

Bloomberg published a story yesterday on the costs of medical malpractice. According to a report which was recently published in academic journal, Health Affairs, medical malpractice and the precautions taken to avoid litigation cost the U.S. about $55.6 billion annually, or 2.4 percent of the total health-care bill (based on 2008 figures).

Just defensive medicine – the precautions doctors take to protect themselves, and their employers, from lawsuits – includes tests, visits and procedures and cost $45.6 billion in 2008. The practice of medical malpractice and defensive medicine has long been a hot topic of tort reformers – and we’ve certainly talked about it before.

While not everyone is on the same page about the ways to curb the cost of medical malpractice, there’s one thing we can all agree on: $56 billion is a lot of money – in any economy.