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Advocacy / Advocacy Action Center / Medical Liability

You are entering webpages belonging to the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons, which includes information and resources for Association advocacy efforts and the Political Action Committee of The American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (OrthoPAC).

Medical Liability Reform

The AAOS believes that medical liability reforms will...

  • Enhance patient-physician communication
  • Improve patient safety and access to high-quality care
  • Reduce defensive medicine and wasteful spending
  • Decrease liability costs
  • Most importantly, help compensate negligently injured patients promptly and equitably

However, the current landscape of medical liability is failing patients and physicians alike. 71% of Americans agree that medical liability lawsuits are one of the main factors behind rising health care costs, and 78% of Americans are concerned that access to health care may be compromised because of soaring liability premiums. In fact, in 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 30% of premiums reported on a survey of liability insurers had increased from the previous year, the highest percentage since 2005.

AAOS is urging Congress to fix this broken status quo by placing time-tested, reasonable limits on non-economic damages, protecting physicians who are volunteering their services, and exploring alternative methods for compensating negligently injured patients promptly and equitably.

Ask your member of Congress to protect physicians who are volunteering medical services in officially declared federal or local disaster zones and support H.R.2819, the Good Samaritan Health Professionals Act of 2023.

Resources and AAOS Letters