Date of Award
5-2023
Document Type
Thesis
Department
Political Science
First Advisor
Patrick Donnay
Abstract
The relationship between medical malpractice laws and healthcare has been an issue battling since the early 1980s. The relationship differs among states because some states have stricter malpractice laws and others have less strict laws, which ultimately affects the healthcare costs within that state. It is argued that because of the risks of lawsuits against doctors, they tend to practice more defensive medicine, affecting health costs and lawsuit rewards. I analyze data from The National Conference of State Legislatures, The Court Statistics Project, and The Kaiser Family Foundation to assess the correlation between state tort laws and their effect on healthcare costs. Preliminary results are mixed showing a variety of causal factors that influence healthcare costs.
Recommended Citation
Fulton, Madison, "The Effects of Medical Malpractice Laws in the American States on Healthcare Expenditures" (2023). Political Science Theses and Capstones. 7.
https://pines.bemidjistate.edu/capstone-polisci/7
Included in
American Politics Commons, Comparative and Foreign Law Commons, Comparative Politics Commons, Health Law and Policy Commons, Law and Economics Commons, Litigation Commons, Medical Jurisprudence Commons, State and Local Government Law Commons
