Posted on 07/20/2009 12:12:34 PM PDT by delacoert
After Michael Jackson, the most talked about news story at the corner coffee klatches in Newport-Mesa are the new universal health-care proposals.
Although less frequently discussed than it should be, no new federal health-care plan will succeed and cut costs without some type of tort reform.
President Obama has asked all Americans to “sacrifice” for their country in these troubled times. Yet for some reason (hard to believe) he hasn’t asked his brethren, the lawyers and trial lawyers, to make any sacrifices such as not suing the medical system to death.
By some accounts lawsuits take hundreds of billions from our health-care premiums. Remember that win or lose, some or all of the trial lawyers always win.
The president has asked patients, hospitals, clinics, physicians, dentists, nurses, drug companies, pharmacies and health-care companies to take far less.
He has already received 150-plus billion dollars in concessions from the hospitals and 80 billion from the pharmaceutical companies with more groups caving in daily to political coercion. He is also considering a “medical surtax” in addition to higher tax rates for those families making more than $250,000.
Contrary to myths spread by the trial lawyers, few persons seek, or states place caps on a truly injured patient being “made whole.” There are no caps on necessary medical care, nursing care, physical therapy, vocational therapy medications, loss of current and future income, household assistance and on and on. The caps being sought are on the frosting on the cake item of “pain and suffering” that turns the tort system into a legal lottery.
For example, remember how trial lawyer John Edwards bankrolled more than $250,000 million with his dramatic role playing and play acting in the courtroom to get huge pain and suffering verdicts. It turned out that all his claims were junk science. This is the same honest guy who looked straight into the eye of the TV cameras and swore there wasn’t a shred of evidence to support the claims he was having an affair. We shouldn’t allow guys like Edwards to game the system with our premiums.
In addition, if the malpractice laws were made fairer, it would be possible for physicians to eliminate some defensive diagnostic tests and treatments that also add billions to insurance costs. By some estimates these make up one-fourth to one-third of medical costs.
To cut costs we will need some fair and reasonable limitations of lawyers fees, percentages of recoveries, trolling for cases on the Internet, class-action lawsuits, and venue shopping for favorable judges and geographical areas.
While the president asks the nation to sacrifice and cut costs he should also include his own profession.
In sum, no tort reform will lead to no significant cost reduction and therefore no viable universal health-care plan.
Some recent MSM articles on nationalized healthcare mentioning tort reform:
First I’ve seen ANYONE talking about Tort Reform.
You’ll know they are serious about HC reform if they start talking seriously about tort reform first.
Absolutely has to come before ANY reform in any medical industry vertical.
A good Tort reform would remove the need for any health care reform.
Agree completely.
But what would all the mesothelioma and Vioxx vultures do for a living...go back to slip-and-falls?
But what would all the mesothelioma and Vioxx vultures do for a living...go back to slip-and-falls?
Have not heard this issue at all, but completely agree that tort reform should be front and center and won’t cost any money from the taxpayers.
I’ve been talking about it for years. When my doctor, a couple decades ago, said his Malpractice insurance went up tenfold in one year, and yet their were no cases against him. His annual insurance cost twice what I made in a year. That was when I realized the main reason health care is so expensive.
And I think this English Rule thing is a REAL good idea. I’ve been pushing for it most of my life, but didn’t call it that. I called it “frivoulous lawsuit” payment. But English Rule would be much simpler.
Ain’t gonna happen, folks. Not as long as we keep electing lawyers to public office.
Fire your congressman in 2010.
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