Real Health Care Reform Must Include Tort Reform
December 1, 2009
Two excellent articles in the past few days continue to make the case that effective health care reform must include meaningful medical liability reform. The Congressional Budget Office recently estimated that as much as $54 billion could be saved over the next decade if Congress enacted legal reforms.
In an interview with LegalNewsLine, columnist Charles Krauthammer argues that without liability reforms the billions that could be saved are instead flushed away:
“Part is simply hemorrhaged into the legal system to benefit a few jackpot lawsuit winners and an army of extravagantly rich malpractice lawyers such as John Edwards. The rest is wasted within the medical system in the millions of unnecessary tests, procedures and referrals undertaken solely to fend off lawsuits.”
As Krauthammer points out, instead of enacting serious reforms, the health care bill passed by the House “actually penalizes states that dare ‘limit attorneys’ fees or impose caps on damages.’”
An article by Jim Copeland of the Manhattan Institute uncovers the other trial lawyer goodies hidden in the House bill. It ain’t pretty. And the Senate bill? MIA when it comes to tackling runaway medical liability premiums - there are no legal reforms to be found, just a meaningless ”sense of the Senate” provision that medical liability is an issue.
As Copeland writes,
“The trial bar could hardly have designed better bills for protecting its interests.”