Cuomo Takes on N.Y.’s Lawsuit “Sickness”

Today in the New York Daily News, columnist Bill Hammond shines his spotlight on New York’s medical malpractice problem – which has been a pox on New York’s health care system.

Hammond says that with the proposed Medicaid overhaul which was released last week, Cuomo is putting tort reform and the malpractice issue “at the front and center of the coming debate over how to rein in the state's soaring health spending.”  While Hammond also says that the plan is not ideal – it’s the most that’s been done to address the problem in two decades.

In case you were wondering, lawsuit-related costs – on hospitals alone – amounted to $1.6 billion in 2009. For doctors, some pay $190,000 a year for malpractice insurance. For means of comparison, Hammond notes that that number is up nearly 50 percent from five years ago.

We’re going to keep a close watch on this one. Stay tuned.