Posts Tagged medical malpractice reform
Health Care Push Revives Tort Reform Debate
NationalJournal.com
ONLINE EXCLUSIVE
Proponents Predict Billions In Savings From Reform, But Opponents Say Changes Aren’t Worth It
Addressing the American Medical Association in June, President Obama got applause for bringing up an issue facing many doctors — the threat of malpractice suits. “I recognize that it will be hard to make some of these changes if doctors feel like they’re constantly looking over their shoulders for fear of lawsuits,” he said. “I understand some doctors may feel the need to order more tests and treatments to avoid being legally vulnerable.”
But he immediately tempered the crowd. “I’m not advocating caps on malpractice awards, which I personally believe can be unfair to people who’ve been wrongfully harmed,” he added, to scattered booing.
Obama’s tightrope walk captured some of the difficulties on both sides of the debate over tort reform, a long-standing debate that has gained new prominence amid the summer’s larger battle over health care reform. It’s almost universally agreed that the threat of lawsuits hangs over doctors and has led to more tests and costs, but wholesale reform of the tort system is viewed by many observers as too big — or too divisive — a step without enough of a payoff. Read the rest of this entry »
Stonewalling Legal Reform
– The Atlantic
It is incredible to me that, amid public concern over the leading healthcare proposals, congressional leadership continues to stonewall any discussion of legal overhaul. They have effectively left the field open to Republicans, who now have seized the center with proposals for special health courts and other ideas that enjoy broad support from almost all healthcare constituents, including consumer groups and patient safety advocates. See here, here and here. I know the trial lawyers give Democrats a lot of money, but can this possibly be smart politics? Read the rest of this entry »
Texas Tort Victories: The plaintiffs-lawyer lobby blows $9 million and gets nowhere.
-The Wall Street Journal
Texas recently finished its legislative session, and the best news is what didn’t pass. Namely, some 900 bills put forward by the tort bar.
The plaintiffs-lawyer lobby spent $9 million in last year’s state legislative elections to help smooth the way for these bills, which were designed to roll back tort reforms passed in recent years, or to create new ways to sue. Yet that money wasn’t enough to convince most Texas legislators to give up two-decades of hard-won legal progress, which ranges from class-action clean-up to medical liability reform.