Actuary: Health Care Reform Could Have Positive Med Mal Impact

At a recent Casualty Actuarial Society meeting, John Mize, consulting actuary at Towers Watson, told the assembled actuaries that the Affordable Care Act could have a positive effect on medical malpractice.  He noted that some provisions of the law emphasize "value-based compensation programs:"

Since hospitals will get penalized if they have a large proportion of re-admissions, this may motivate them to provide better care, which would result in more favorable outcomes and fewer claims, Mr. Mize said.

Some panelists also noted potential negative effects of the reform, such as the short-term potential to overload the primary care network.  National Underwriter Property And Casualty Insurance News has the story.

--CJR