True, but here's a point the NYT missed: caps on malpractice claims don't have to change how doctors practice medicine to reduce costs. By capping liability, they should make malpractice insurance cheaper and thus reduce the cost of providing care.
Caps on malpractice claims exist in numerous jurisdictions, and studies have shown them to have no discernable effect on either total healthcare costs or even specifically on malpractice insurance costs.
“In summary, there exists considerable evidence that medical malpractice reform measures reduce medical malpractice awards and also the losses incurred by medical malpractice insurance companies.”
Texas seems to have set caps so low that it has reduced premiums for doctors. But "making malpractice cheaper" isn't much of a policy goal.
Nationally,'tort reform' caps have had mixed results. "...better-designed studies show that damages caps reduce liability insurance premiums. The effects of damages caps on defensive medicine, physicians’ location decisions, and the cost of health care to consumers are less clear." [0]
