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Michael D. Frakes (Former Academic Fellow) and Jonathan Gruber
National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
July 2018

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From the abstract:

We estimate the extent of defensive medicine by physicians, embracing the no-liability counterfactual made possible by the structure of liability rules in the Military Heath System. Active-duty patients seeking treatment from military facilities cannot sue for harms resulting from negligent care, while protections are provided to dependents treated at military facilities and to all patients—active-duty or not—that receive care from civilian facilities. Drawing on this variation and exploiting exogenous shocks to care location choices stemming from base-hospital closures, we find suggestive evidence that liability immunity reduces inpatient spending by 5% with no measurable negative effect on patient outcomes.

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Tags

health care finance   health law policy   human subjects research   medical malpractice   medicine