Physician medical malpractice.

Malpractice insurance premiums for physicians have increased at an average rate of over 30 percent per year. This rate is significantly higher than health care cost inflation and the increase in physician costs. Trends indicate that malpractice related costs, both liability insurance and defensive medicine costs, will continue to increase for the near future. Pressures to limit physician costs under Medicare raise a concern about how malpractice costs can be controlled. This paper presents an overview of the problem, reviews options that are available to policymakers, and discusses State and legislative efforts to address the issue.