If the government knew it might be liable in a lawsuit, it would have a vastly increased incentive to provide quality medical care. A former commander of mine once told me that, "the true measure of a man may be seen in how he behaves when he knows he will not be held accountable for his actions." Remove the incentive for doing the right thing, guarantee a lack of punishment for doing the wrong, and what do you get? All too often, you are left with the expedient, the cheap, and the good-enough-for-government-work. When Uncle Sam knows he will not be sued for botched surgeries, erroneous prescriptions, and filthy hospitals, he has no incentive to fix those problems.

http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/?Page=Article&ID=2885