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Articles 1 - 7 of 7
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Economic Windfalls And The Affordable Care Act: A Policy Proposal, Joshua Congdon-Hohman, Victor Matheson
Economic Windfalls And The Affordable Care Act: A Policy Proposal, Joshua Congdon-Hohman, Victor Matheson
Economics Department Working Papers
This paper identifies a major issue with windfall payments under either possible interpretation of the ACA as it currently stands. Several alternatives are proposed that would eliminate the windfalls. We advocate the establishment of a tort award funded “Federal Stabilization Fund” to improve the economic efficiency of future health care awards in the age of the Affordable Care Act
Potential Effects Of The Affordable Care Act On Loss Calculations, Joshua Congdon-Hohman, Victor Matheson
Potential Effects Of The Affordable Care Act On Loss Calculations, Joshua Congdon-Hohman, Victor Matheson
Economics Department Working Papers
This paper examines how the Affordable Care Act might affect the analysis of future care costs in medical malpractice, product or accident liability, or workplace injury cases. Prior to the ACA, it was reasonable to presume that a great deal of a victim’s future health care costs would be paid for out-of-pocket as there was little guarantee that the plaintiff would have access to affordable insurance. Since January 2014, however, a plaintiff can obtain insurance that will cover a significant portion of any future medical costs. This paper examines the basic structure of the ACA, how it has affected health …
Life-Care Awards In The Age Of The Affordable Care Act, Joshua Congdon-Hohman, Victor Matheson
Life-Care Awards In The Age Of The Affordable Care Act, Joshua Congdon-Hohman, Victor Matheson
Economics Department Working Papers
Prior to January 1, 2014, it would have been reasonable to assume that persons injured in an act of negligence would be forced to pay for their future medical care costs out-of-pocket rather than being able to rely on health insurance. The passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has the potential to radically change how victims pay for future medical expenses, and now nearly every tort award that provides money to the plaintiff for the full payment of medical costs without consideration of the availability of health insurance will serve to overcompensate victims for their expected medical costs. New …
Potential Effects Of The Affordable Care Act On The Award Of Life Care Expenses, Joshua Congdon-Hohman, Victor Matheson
Potential Effects Of The Affordable Care Act On The Award Of Life Care Expenses, Joshua Congdon-Hohman, Victor Matheson
Economics Department Working Papers
Plaintiffs in personal injury lawsuits are entitled to compensation for future medical expenses. We argue that the “guaranteed issue” and “individual mandate” requirements of the recently passed Affordable Care Act (ACA) will allow victims to address their health needs through the purchase of a simple health insurance plan rather than direct compensation for an itemized list of health care needs. As such, damage awards for health expenditures should be capped at a maximum of $5,950 per year. Furthermore, the role of a life care planner should evolve into determining which life care expenses are covered under covered by the minimum …
Research Note: Assessing Household Service Losses With Joint Survival Probabilities, Victor Matheson, Robert Baade
Research Note: Assessing Household Service Losses With Joint Survival Probabilities, Victor Matheson, Robert Baade
Economics Department Working Papers
Traditional analyses of household service losses in personal injury and wrongful death litigation calculate the losses over the expected lifetime of the injured or deceased individual. In fact, the losses to the surviving family members are more accurately described by using joint survival probabilities of the injured or deceased person and their survivors, or a “joint life expectancy.” The use of joint probabilities will always serve to reduce expected household service losses and these reductions can be especially significant when the deceased is significantly younger than the surviving spouse or if the survivor has a relatively low remaining life expectancy.
(Much) More On The Collateral Source Rule, David Schap, Andrew Feeley
(Much) More On The Collateral Source Rule, David Schap, Andrew Feeley
Economics Department Working Papers
The collateral source rule is a common law norm that permits recovery of accident-related damages from both the victim’s insurer and the injurer. Many jurisdictions have modified the rule through statutory reform during the last twenty-five years. Forensic economists in assessing damages need to be aware of the variations in the application of the rule in the jurisdictions in which they practice. The authors present a tabular summary of the statutory variations that exist in the collateral source rule across state jurisdictions and the detailed status of the statutory modifications to the rule for each state.
The Collateral Source Rule: A Common Law Norm Under Special Interest Attack, David Schap, Andrew Feeley
The Collateral Source Rule: A Common Law Norm Under Special Interest Attack, David Schap, Andrew Feeley
Economics Department Working Papers
According to Posnerian law and economics, common law (i.e., judge-made law) tends to promote efficiency. Public choice teaches that statutory (legislated) law need have no such efficiency property because, unlike appointed judges, legislators are subject to short election cycles and are beholden to special interests for election and re-election. The collateral source rule is a common law norm that permits an injured party to recover damages from both the tortfeasor (injurer) and from private insurance. Published work in the law and economics literature indicates that despite an appearance that the rule permits unwarranted double recover, the rule is indeed generally …