Rick Perry’s Texas: Tort Reformed

Tort Reformed: Texas underwent drastic tort reform in 2003 under the promise of lower health care cost and bringing doctors to underserved rural areas, despite the fact that malpractice claims made up less than one percent of total health care expenditures in Texas. Texas Monthly reported that malpractice insurance reductions have been less than 1.5% since 2003, and that nothing changed except that insurance company profits doubled. While Perry credits tort reform for luring 17,000 new physicians to the Texas, more than 5.2 million Texans live in areas designated as official health professional shortage areas. Texas ranks 48th out of 50 states in the number of physicians per 100,000 residents.

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