i don't know why, but the US chamber institute for legal reform sent me a link to a study purporting to prove rising medical malpractice insurance premiums are driven by lawsuits.

the institute is part of the US chamber of commerce, a close ally of the GOP.

their heading above the link seemed a bit inflammatory, but i'm biased. here, you judge:

Outrageous Lawsuit Awards Responsible for Health Care Crisis

i didn't wade thru the whole paper, but i did notice figure 1, a graph which supposedly shows a relationship between premiums and tort awards. actually, it's not just awards but awards/payouts, and they changed the scale so the line looks like it rises at the same rate as premiums, when in fact premiums have risen faster.

it wasn't too hard to find other published work that draws opposite conclusions. all i had to do was scroll down to "references" at the bottom of the page.

the medical malpractice insurance "crisis" is over, folks. it ended when financial markets stabilized. lawsuits never caused high rate hikes. it was all a big scam by greedy insurers and power-hungry politicians.

so what else is new?