Medical Malpractice:
A Continuing Problem With Far-Reaching Implications
T-HRD-90-24: Published: Apr 26, 1990. Publicly Released: Apr 26, 1990.
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GAO discussed the implications of medical malpractice for health policy and medical care practices. GAO noted that: (1) health care expenditures accounted for about 12 percent of the gross national product, and 40 percent of those expenditures were publicly financed; (2) malpractice insurance costs increased from $1.7 billion in 1983 to $5.9 billion in 1988 for physicians and from $800 million in 1983 to $1.3 billion in 1985 for hospitals; (3) physician malpractice insurance premiums varied according to their specialty and geographic location; (4) state licensing boards took few disciplinary actions against physicians; (5) the legislatively established National Practitioner Data Bank, expected to be operational by September 1990, will include information about licensing boards' and hospitals' disciplinary actions against physicians and medical malpractice claims paid by insurance companies against licensed practitioners; and (6) the tort system for compensating victims of medical negligence was inefficient, inequitable, costly, and time-consuming, and did not deter negligent medical practice. GAO believes that, while the high cost of malpractice insurance and the threat of litigation have contributed to significant changes in medical care delivery, it is unclear whether those changes: (1) improved the quality of care; (2) decreased the incidence of negligent medical practice; (3) unnecessarily added to health care delivery costs; or (4) effectively addressed the fair compensation of victims of medical negligence.
Feb 24, 2021
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Covid-19:
Key Insights from GAO's Oversight of the Federal Public Health ResponseGAO-21-396T: Published: Feb 24, 2021. Publicly Released: Feb 24, 2021.
Feb 17, 2021
Feb 11, 2021
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Operation Warp Speed:
Accelerated COVID-19 Vaccine Development Status and Efforts to Address Manufacturing ChallengesGAO-21-319: Published: Feb 11, 2021. Publicly Released: Feb 11, 2021.
Feb 5, 2021
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DOD Health Care:
DOD Should Monitor Implementation of Its Clinical Practice GuidelinesGAO-21-237: Published: Feb 5, 2021. Publicly Released: Feb 5, 2021. -
Medicaid:
CMS Needs to Implement Risk-Based Oversight of Puerto Rico's Procurement ProcessGAO-21-229: Published: Feb 5, 2021. Publicly Released: Feb 5, 2021. -
VA Health Care:
Community Living Centers Were Commonly Cited for Infection Control Deficiencies Prior to the COVID-19 PandemicGAO-21-195R: Published: Jan 6, 2021. Publicly Released: Feb 5, 2021.
Jan 28, 2021
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COVID-19:
Critical Vaccine Distribution, Supply Chain, Program Integrity, and Other Challenges Require Focused Federal AttentionGAO-21-265: Published: Jan 28, 2021. Publicly Released: Jan 28, 2021.
Jan 21, 2021
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Rural Hospital Closures:
Affected Residents Had Reduced Access to Health Care ServicesGAO-21-93: Published: Dec 22, 2020. Publicly Released: Jan 21, 2021. -
Health Care Funding:
Federal Obligations to and Funds Received by Certain Organizations Involved in Health-Related Services, 2016 through 2018GAO-21-188R: Published: Dec 21, 2020. Publicly Released: Jan 21, 2021.
Jan 14, 2021
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Medicaid:
Data Completeness and Accuracy Have Improved, Though Not All Standards Have Been MetGAO-21-196: Published: Jan 14, 2021. Publicly Released: Jan 14, 2021.
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