Will the Affordable Care Act and Tort Reform Render the Collateral Source Doctrine Obsolete in Resolving the Issue of Damages in Cases Involving Personal Injury and Life Care Planning?

With the passage of the Affordable Care Act and the legal and legislative activity on tort reform on state-by-state collateral source rules, the professional specialty area oflife care planning has been and will continue to be impacted by these developments. It remain to be seen how both state and federal courts (depending of individual state rules) will allow or disallow collateral source issues to be discussed before, during, or after court proceedings. Issues are discussed related to the implications for the life care planner including a discussion and summary of selected legal cases that already have been adjudicated in the courts. Life care planners need to take notice of these developments of tort reform on the rules on collateral sources and the various differences which exist by geographical jurisdictions.