Opinion ID: 1787098
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 11

Heading: The Cap Reduces the Overall Cost of Health Care

Text: ś 287. The majority opinion does not allege that noneconomic damage caps do not reduce the cost of health care. Rather, the majority concentrates on the fact that medical malpractice insurance premiums are an exceedingly small portion of overall health care costs. Majority op., ś 162. The majority equates small percentages with small costs. ś 288. A multitude of studies and statistics belie the majority's conclusion. First, a May 2003 study by the Joint Economic Committee of the United States Congress concluded that medical malpractice reform could produce $12.1 billion to $19.5 billion in annual savings for the federal government, and, by decreasing costs, increase the number of Americans with health insurance coverage by as many as 3.9 million people. [57] Another study estimated that the savings from national reform would be $70 to $126 billion dollars per year. [58] ś 289. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that malpractice reforms, including the imposition of caps on noneconomic damages, would result in a 0.4 percent decrease in the price of health insurance. [59] Nationwide, this would mean that an additional 385,000 Americans could obtain health insurance. [60] ś 290. While these figures may represent a small percentage of total health care costs or the total number of Americans, they are not inconsequential. There is no reason to believe that these findings are not also applicable, on a smaller scale, in Wisconsin. The legislature had a rational basis to believe that the imposition of damage caps would reduce overall health care costs and increase the availability of health insurance.