Lawyers' bills pile high, driving up health care costs

USA Today reports:

Health care costs are out of control, as we heard constantly during the presidential campaign. Yet that doesn't stop sensible physicians from shunning the sickest patients or ordering needless hospitalizations, drugs, tests and invasive procedures.

Against their better judgment, physicians practice "defensive medicine" — actions designed to protect themselves from lawsuits rather than serve patients' best interests.

Why? The threat of being sued is pervasive, and doctors simply don't trust the legal system. One in seven obstetricians/gynecologists has stopped delivering babies, and three-quarters have been sued at least once, according to a 2003 study. Years of staggering malpractice premium increases have forced many to alter their practices or quit treating patients.

A study last month by the Massachusetts Medical Society found that 83% of its doctors practice defensive medicine at a cost of at least $1.4 billion a year. Nationally, the cost is $60 billion-plus, according to the Health and Human Services Department.

You'll want to read the whole article.