Health care costs are rising; however, medical malpractice litigation has nothing to do with it. According to the Congressional Budget Office, medical malpractice amounted to less than 2 percent of overall health care spending. Congressional Budget Office, “Limiting Tort Liability for Medical Malpractice,” 1/08/04. The Government Accountability Office also found that malpractice cases have not widely affected access to health care. “Medical Malpractice: Implications of Rising Premiums on Access to Health Care,” GAO, 9/29/03, http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-03-836.

According to the American Medical Association, the overall number of physicians is up more than 40 percent since 19905, while over the same time, the U.S. population increased by only 18 percent.“Physician Characteristics and Distribution in the U.S.,” American Medical Association, 2006 edition, p.312. The number of emergency physicians, neurosurgeons, and OB/GYNs has also increased significantly over the same time period. U.S. Census Bureau data: http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFPopulation?_submenuId=population_0&_sse=on; http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-ds_name=PEP_2005_EST&-mt_name=PEP_2005_EST_G2005_T001.

For the story in Illinois, see: http://www.iltla.com/pdf/WhitePaper_TheWholeTruth_Feb2010.pdf — information as of February 2010.