Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Democrats in Congress and the Senate will not realistically approach the problem of medical malpractice costs because of opposition from the trial lawyers professional group (called the American Association of Justice). Howard Dean, former chair of the Democratic National Committee was asked why there is nothing in the health-care proposals about liability reform. Mr. Dean replied: “The reason that tort reform is not in the bill is because the people who wrote it did not want to take on the trial lawyers…And that is the plain and simple truth.”
Today, lawyer and administrative costs soak up 54¢ out of every malpractice dollar. It costs obstetricians $1000 in malpractice insurance costs for every baby they deliver.
Former Sen. John Edwards made a fortune bringing 16 cases against hospitals for babies born with cerebral palsy. Each of those tragic cases was worth millions in settlement. But according to a 2006 study at the National Institutes of Health, in 9 out of 10 cases of cerebral palsy nothing done by a doctor could have caused the condition.
We should all write our Congressmen about this big problem, which is causing huge medical service costs.
(This article was resourced from the Wall Street Journal 9/29/09 page A25.)
Today, lawyer and administrative costs soak up 54¢ out of every malpractice dollar. It costs obstetricians $1000 in malpractice insurance costs for every baby they deliver.
Former Sen. John Edwards made a fortune bringing 16 cases against hospitals for babies born with cerebral palsy. Each of those tragic cases was worth millions in settlement. But according to a 2006 study at the National Institutes of Health, in 9 out of 10 cases of cerebral palsy nothing done by a doctor could have caused the condition.
We should all write our Congressmen about this big problem, which is causing huge medical service costs.
(This article was resourced from the Wall Street Journal 9/29/09 page A25.)
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