Source: The Wall Street Journal
Along with the groundswell of lukewarm support for Health Care Reform in the United States comes the screeching noise from the physician’s lobby arm over Tort Reform. And on cue, the Central Budgeting Office goes to work making numbers work.
Guess what? They found out that money could be saved with a national cap on punitive and non-economic damages (anything other than the cost of your medical bills) and limiting liability exposure through “special” legislation. Given that punitive and non-economic damages are the only mechanisms for ensuring that the medical community polices itself, this should be worrisome to consumers.
How much savings? 0.5% which in this bloated nation’s medical care bill is $11 billion a year currently. 0.2% of which is direct spending on malpractice premiums and payouts.
Okay, fine. What does the consumer get from this huge costs savings to the medical industry? Well, according to the CBO, “The evidence isn’t clear on whether reducing medical malpractice liability would affect health outcomes for patients.” Well there you go. It’s a good thing our focus is spending money on bailing out corporations and leveling wealth and NOT protecting patients.
~Posted by David Marc Schwadron, Esquire.