Despite public misconceptions, the supposedly rising costs associated with medical malpractice – which, in turn leading to higher insurance premiums – actually isn’t forcing doctors to quit their jobs or relocate their practices to different states.

This myth and other claims that litigation costs will destroy the health care industry that are repeated ad-nauseum by health care and insurance industry lobbyists simply aren’t supported by the data, the validity of which isn’t even contested by either side in the debate.

In fact, the data contradicts these red herrings.

Citing the findings of a GAO study (link to .pdf) which in turn analyzes the AMA’s own statistical data, AAJ notes that:

“Many of the reported provider actions taken in response to malpractice pressures were not substantiated or did not widely affect access to health care … some reports of physicians relocating to other states, retiring, or closing practices were not accurate or involved relatively few physicians.”ⁱ In fact, data from the AMA shows that physician numbers have been increasing across the board for many years.

The AAJ goes on to detail what is actually going on:

The number of doctors is increasing. The total number of physicians in the U.S. rose to yet another record high in 2007, the most recent year for which data is available. There were 941,304 physicians in the U.S. in 2007, nearly 20,000 more than the year before.

The number of doctors is increasing faster than population growth. The increase in physicians outpaced the increase in population once again. The number of physicians per 100,000 population is at an all-time high of 307. The increase of physician numbers compared to population growth has climbed steadily for decades. There are now twice as many physicians per 100,000 population as there were when the AMA began tracking figures in the 1960s.

The number of physicians is increasing across the states. Despite the cries of physicians fleeing multiple states, the number of physicians increased in every state in 2007. In addition, the increase in physicians either matched or outpaced population growth in every state over the last five years.

The ratio of doctors to population is higher in states without caps; the number of physicians per 100,000 population is 13% higher in those states that do not have caps

These facts on the actual economic impact medical malpractice litigation is having on doctors’ job security, check out AAJ’s excellent online resource on the subject here. And for some quick facts, download their comprehensive primer.

As the national debate on the future of health care and health insurance continues to boil over, it’s more important to know the actual facts instead of relying on the soundbites you hear from the media and the so-called “expert” punditry. Do your own fact-checking instead.

Update: Case in point, make sure to read this article from Bloomberg News reports on exactly the kind of lobbyist-induced misinformation that is in play.