TORT DEFORM
Every citizen of Georgia ten and older should be forced to read the following article: two years ago, our state Legislature, that convenes in a gold-domed capitol full of fool's gold legislators, passed a series of tort deformed measures that, among other things, capped the damages amounts that could be awarded by juries in medical malpractice cases (you know, because "OB/GYNs weren't able to practice their love with women anymore because they couldn't afford the high cost of malpractice insurance generated by all of those frivolous lawsuits. Of course, we all know that these bumpkin OB/GYN's were all top-tier doctors who, were they not constantly inundated with such friviolous lawsuits (which were by definition not friviolous, because the verdicts were upheld on appeal, and which were also few in amount, and which barely contributed to a rise in insurance premiums), perfectly capable of purchasing said insurance. After all,the fact that their (in many cases) poor clientele could not afford insurance of their own and could not see these physicians (and thus could not make them wealthy enough to afford the insurance) had nothing to do with why the one OB/GYN in one out of Georgia's170-odd counties was going out of business - nor did the fact that the one health insurance provider for that county sucked to high hell.
Anyhow, the legislature, having properly identified the bogeyman of frivolous lawsuits, passed a law (with the appropriate Orwellian name) capping the damages a Plaintiff could receive were he successful in the prosecution of a medical malpractice suit. The biggest medical malpractice carriers in Georgia PROMISED the Lege that if such legisation were passed, that, IMMEDIATELY (i.e. within the same day of passage), premiums for all physicians would be cut by 10%. The carriers made good on their promise once the legislation was passed. Talk about a bait and switch:
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
"Tort reform" not helping doctors in Georgia
Over the last two years, one of the issues conservatives have pushed the hardest at the state level (and Democrats have gone along) is "tort reform" -- rolling back the legal penalties and options available to consumers who are hurt by negligence.Medical malpractice awards are one of the favorite whipping boys of the corporate interests, and tightened caps on awards to patients for non-economic damages have been enacted in many states. One of the selling points -- and the way the "tort reform" lobby has gotten doctors on board -- has been by promising that capping malpractice awards will lower insurance rates for doctors.But an in-depth story by Greg Bluestein of the Associated Press looks at Georgia's experience with capping medical malpractice, and finds doctors aren't better off -- in fact, their insurance rates are getting worse:
Despite promises that rising medical malpractice insurance rates would be suppressed under new state laws, many of Georgia's insurers have hiked their premiums since the sweeping reforms took effect last year, according to an Associated Press analysis of state insurance records.Six of the state's top insurers of doctors and dentists have increased their liability rates -- in some cases, by more than a third -- since new restrictions on malpractice cases became law in February 2005, according to state Department of Insurance records obtained by the AP through an open records request.The reforms passed by the Georgia Legislature last year included a $350,000 limit on jury awards for malpractice victims' pain and suffering, tougher standards for expert witnesses in malpractice trials, and new incentives for patients to settle out of court.Doctors and hospitals contended the measures, dubbed "civil justice reform," would curb malpractice insurance rates and help lure more doctors to Georgia. Business lobbies, too, threw their weight behind the legislation because it encourages speedy out-of-court settlements and penalizes parties who make frivolous claims.But trial lawyers and patient advocacy groups argued that limiting damage awards puts an arbitrary price on a victim's life, and that the state's medical insurers have fostered a false crisis by driving up premiums in a market with little competition."Our worst fears have come true," said Allie Wall, the director of consumer group Georgia Watch, which vigorously opposed the new laws. "More than a year has gone by, yet Georgia doctors have not saved a penny on their insurance, as promised, and the insurance companies still raking in record profits."
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Why does this surprise anyone? We were told in 2004 by a certain demonized politician that "frivolous lawsuits" drove up the costs of doing medicine by at most 1%. What we were not told was how much the cost of frivolous lawsuits, standing alone, caused medical malpractice rates to rise, and now we know: because the rates rise independently of how many such lawsuits are filed or can be filed, and independently of whether damages are capped.
Think the bumpkin physicians will catch on to the fact that they are being fleeced? Don't bet on it. A prominent Macon, GA physician once testified in the well of the Georgia Capitol Dome that a woman who was a rape victim was incapable of becoming pregnant (guess why he did this) because, as he said, her "vaginal secretions hadn't had time to be adequaely prepared. Obviously this guy's mother's secretions weren't adequately prepared.
As P.T. Barnum might have said in another life, "No one ever went broke underestimating the haste of the American public," or in this case, a supposedly inteligent public professional class that insists upon voting against its interests (it's not just poor people, George Will, who do this - Republicans have so demonized common sense that they've gotten everyone to wage war on it. So next time you hear a Georgia doctor give you the sob story about how a "frivolous" lawsuit put him out of business, hold the doctor to his oath, and don't let him lie to you by telling you that a non-reason is responsible for his woe. After all, to lie is harmful, and a doctor's oath requires that he first do no harm. And not too long ago, a legislature's silent oath required that he first do no smarm.
Anyhow, the legislature, having properly identified the bogeyman of frivolous lawsuits, passed a law (with the appropriate Orwellian name) capping the damages a Plaintiff could receive were he successful in the prosecution of a medical malpractice suit. The biggest medical malpractice carriers in Georgia PROMISED the Lege that if such legisation were passed, that, IMMEDIATELY (i.e. within the same day of passage), premiums for all physicians would be cut by 10%. The carriers made good on their promise once the legislation was passed. Talk about a bait and switch:
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
"Tort reform" not helping doctors in Georgia
Over the last two years, one of the issues conservatives have pushed the hardest at the state level (and Democrats have gone along) is "tort reform" -- rolling back the legal penalties and options available to consumers who are hurt by negligence.Medical malpractice awards are one of the favorite whipping boys of the corporate interests, and tightened caps on awards to patients for non-economic damages have been enacted in many states. One of the selling points -- and the way the "tort reform" lobby has gotten doctors on board -- has been by promising that capping malpractice awards will lower insurance rates for doctors.But an in-depth story by Greg Bluestein of the Associated Press looks at Georgia's experience with capping medical malpractice, and finds doctors aren't better off -- in fact, their insurance rates are getting worse:
Despite promises that rising medical malpractice insurance rates would be suppressed under new state laws, many of Georgia's insurers have hiked their premiums since the sweeping reforms took effect last year, according to an Associated Press analysis of state insurance records.Six of the state's top insurers of doctors and dentists have increased their liability rates -- in some cases, by more than a third -- since new restrictions on malpractice cases became law in February 2005, according to state Department of Insurance records obtained by the AP through an open records request.The reforms passed by the Georgia Legislature last year included a $350,000 limit on jury awards for malpractice victims' pain and suffering, tougher standards for expert witnesses in malpractice trials, and new incentives for patients to settle out of court.Doctors and hospitals contended the measures, dubbed "civil justice reform," would curb malpractice insurance rates and help lure more doctors to Georgia. Business lobbies, too, threw their weight behind the legislation because it encourages speedy out-of-court settlements and penalizes parties who make frivolous claims.But trial lawyers and patient advocacy groups argued that limiting damage awards puts an arbitrary price on a victim's life, and that the state's medical insurers have fostered a false crisis by driving up premiums in a market with little competition."Our worst fears have come true," said Allie Wall, the director of consumer group Georgia Watch, which vigorously opposed the new laws. "More than a year has gone by, yet Georgia doctors have not saved a penny on their insurance, as promised, and the insurance companies still raking in record profits."
*********************************************************************************
Why does this surprise anyone? We were told in 2004 by a certain demonized politician that "frivolous lawsuits" drove up the costs of doing medicine by at most 1%. What we were not told was how much the cost of frivolous lawsuits, standing alone, caused medical malpractice rates to rise, and now we know: because the rates rise independently of how many such lawsuits are filed or can be filed, and independently of whether damages are capped.
Think the bumpkin physicians will catch on to the fact that they are being fleeced? Don't bet on it. A prominent Macon, GA physician once testified in the well of the Georgia Capitol Dome that a woman who was a rape victim was incapable of becoming pregnant (guess why he did this) because, as he said, her "vaginal secretions hadn't had time to be adequaely prepared. Obviously this guy's mother's secretions weren't adequately prepared.
As P.T. Barnum might have said in another life, "No one ever went broke underestimating the haste of the American public," or in this case, a supposedly inteligent public professional class that insists upon voting against its interests (it's not just poor people, George Will, who do this - Republicans have so demonized common sense that they've gotten everyone to wage war on it. So next time you hear a Georgia doctor give you the sob story about how a "frivolous" lawsuit put him out of business, hold the doctor to his oath, and don't let him lie to you by telling you that a non-reason is responsible for his woe. After all, to lie is harmful, and a doctor's oath requires that he first do no harm. And not too long ago, a legislature's silent oath required that he first do no smarm.
posted by EnterCenter at 7:53 PM
2 Comments:
Entercenter,
I love this article so much, I am linking it to my site. Tort deform is a great new word, too!
Entercenter,
This is what I wrote on my blog.
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An issue that many conservatives across the country love to latch onto is so-called "tort reform" as a way to curb medical malpractice lawsuits in this nation. They say that it is medical malpractice lawsuits that have driven up the costs of healthcare, though logically, it is clear what truly is driving up the costs of healthcare. When vast swaths of the American public have health insurance (which, the majority of Americans do, even though there are tens of millions without), doctors will of course increase their rates. They know they can charge higher fees, because the insurance companies will pay for it. Meanwhile, this squeezes out the poor who cannot afford healthcare, but are not poor enough to get Medicaid. (some 50 million people) The solution to this crisis in the nation would then be either to insure everyone, or at the very least regulate the fees doctors can charge, and regulate the way insurance companies do business. Ideally, insurance companies would simply be banned altogether, because they really are the reason for the high cost of healthcare, but we know that won't happen.
Tort reform, or as my lovely friend entercenter calls it, "tort deform," is the ideal solution for conservatives. They get to cozy up to their base (insurance companies), and yet also demonize the opposition. (trial attorneys) They claim without numbers to back it up that the costs of medical malpratice suits are alone driving up the costs of healthcare, and the solution is to limit recoveries. Of course, this means that the little girl whos doctor left a scalpel in her body can only recover $350,000 for pain and suffering. Or, the tot who will be deformed for life because of a faulty delivery will get $350,000 for pain and suffering. Pain and suffering is inherently an intangible, impossible to measure, however, it seems beyond ludicrous to box everyone in together, no matter the injury. There will be individuals who will be harmed by such a bill. Entercenter's article about this all is written right here. (I linked to you)
The cost of medical malpractice insurance really stems from the cost of defending doctors in the lawsuits. The vast majority of verdicts are not in the million dollar range, but yet the vast majority of litigation is ungodly expensive. If the conservatives actually cared about "tort reform," in the vein of making medical malpractice insurance cheaper, they would hire more judges to unclog the dockets, and enact laws limiting the length of time available for discovery. (which is by far the most expensive aspect of a lawsuit) However, this would all involve thinking.
And we all know how these people love to fight their never ending war on thought.
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