WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- The Congressional Budget Office is now estimating that limits on medical malpractice lawsuits -- reforms favored by many Republicans -- could save the government as much as $ 54 billion over the next 10 years . Sen. Orrin Hatch , R-Utah , has raised questions about how much malpractice reform would save . The government spends about $ 2.5 trillion on health care every year . A tort reform package that includes caps on jury awards of $ 500,000 for punitive damages and $ 250,000 for `` pain and suffering '' damages would lower liability insurance premiums by about 10 percent , according to a report from the nonpartisan office issued late last week . Such laws would lower expenditures on government programs like Medicare and Medicaid by roughly $ 41 billion , according to the report . An additional $ 13 billion would be gained from taxable wages over 10 years as employers reduce the amount they spend on health care . Watch a report on the findings » . The research was revealed in a letter sent Friday from Douglas Elmendorf , director of the Congressional Budget Office , to Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch , a Republican who has raised questions about how much malpractice reform would save . But the reform package outlined in the report seems unlikely to pass , since the White House opposes capping jury awards . Two Democratic senators told CNN 's `` State of the Union with John King '' on Sunday that regulating malpractice lawsuits is a flawed solution . `` I do n't think the way to go is to limit the rights of Americans who are injured by negligent or intentional conduct , '' Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey told CNN . `` A $ 250,000 cap on damages , in my humble opinion , is insulting to our system of justice . '' Michigan Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow suggested that the Republican approach to malpractice reform was too simplistic . She said limits on damages imposed in Michigan had not stemmed increases in the malpractice insurance rates paid by doctors .
Report sees savings from limits on medical malpractice suits in next 10 years . The report says the average cost of a lawsuit will drop by about $23 billion over that time period. But reforms unlikely to pass , since White House opposes capping jury awards .