Responding to a 2009 request from Senator Orrin Hatch (R, Utah), the Congressional Budget Office issued a letter suggesting that medical malpractice tort reform would “reduce federal budget deficits by roughly $54 billion over the next 10 years.” Sounds great—a billion here, a billion there and pretty soon you’re talking real money—but the devil is in the details. The CBO letter reported that 40% of the savings would come in the form of lower malpractice premiums to physicians and 60% from “less utilization of health care services.” Continue reading →