Tag Archives: tort

PART II
Obama says the costs of health care are too high. In that, he is correct. The reasons he gives are, doctors are dishonest, insurance companies seek profits and there is administrative waste in the system. Rubbish. Dishonest politicians may be the problem but dishonest doctors are not. And does he think unprofitable insurance companies will pay out more benefits than profitable ones? Everyone is for eliminating waste. No one has ever succeeded. Obama has said he can cool the planet, so perhaps he, as no one before him could, can eliminate waste. Just do it Barack, no new law required.

I love this country, but I do have a big gripe. We are the most litigious nation on earth. Ask a surgeon how much he nets for each procedure and how much he has to pay per procedure, to protect his life from destruction by tort lawyers. One gall bladder specialist told me, insurance is two thirds of the cost of a gall bladder operation. A study by the Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) found medical malpractice premiums to have risen 2000% since 1975. That is 4 times the inflation rate. In another study cited by the MMS, 93% of doctors in Pennsylvania acknowledged practicing CYA medicine. I guess the other 7% wouldn’t admit it. The MMS study reported that 25% of medical procedures are ordered for litigation protection, having no medical justification.

Obama and the Democrats have steadfastly rejected efforts to address tort reform. The two largest special interest groups that lobby and financially support Democratic politicians are unions and the tort law community. Measured by campaign contributions, the tort law community is the larger of the two. There is no plausible reason for denying medical tort reform other than the corrupting influence of this arm of the legal community. A good many fine gynecologist felt compelled to leave their practices as the result of one lawyer who made a fortune and a reputation suing members of their specialty. Thousands of women, perhaps tens of thousands had medically inadvisable Caesarean section deliveries purely as a consequence of this lawyers’ successes in court. The lawyer is John Edwards, one time candidate for President on the Democratic ticket.

to be continued, Part III Foreign Policy
Bob B