BAD MEDICINE! - Meriden R-J Op-Ed
Call it “Malpractice Assurance”, call it “Redress Restriction”, call it “Greed Protection”, call it a “Corporate Handout”, or just call it what it is, “Justice Denial”, the new Republican proposal to deny abused patients a just court reward for their suffering is everything but “reform”.
“Tort reform”, a term slammed together in 1992 by GOP spin guru, Frank Luntz, is propagated by corporations in the tobacco, drug, and asbestos industries, as well as others vulnerable to legal actions seeking damages for damages caused by their products. Proponents use the term to refer to legislative measures designed to limit the ability and potential damages available to individuals who take legal actions against these companies. It has become a cause celebre with the Bush administration, so much so, that Bush traveled all the way to Collinsville Illinois earlier this month to hawk his latest proposals.
“The United States Congress needs to pass real medical liability reform this year,” Bush said, slapping his lectern with an open palm to emphasize his point. Behind him, the White House advance team arrayed audience members in white medical coats. Bush warned of a crisis but said it could be averted if the Republican-controlled Congress adopts his plan.
“This liability system, I’m telling you, is out of control,” Bush said. While his proposal has stalled in the last Congress, expanded GOP majorities in both houses have given him and his cronies renewed hope.
The Bush rationale for this move, like so many of his rationales, is quite simple. He believes that a flurry of “Frivolous” class action lawsuits have driven up medical and insurance costs to the point where they are unaffordable. Also like many of Mr. Bush’s rationales, it is far from the truth. According to a recent study by the Center for American Progress, sixty-one percent of lawsuits brought alleging malpractice are dropped or dismissed, so the doctors win. Where lawsuits are shown to be frivolous, the plaintiff can be ordered to pay the legal bills of the defense. Thirty-two percent of such cases are settled. The average award for a successful malpractice suit, according to the National Practitioner Data Bank, (which receives all malpractice settlement and court award information by federal law), is $235,000. Awards of over $500,000 in both actual and punitive damages are rare enough to be newsworthy.
Though the numbers appear at first to be substantial, we are talking about the damage to people’s lives and health caused by dangerous drugs that have not been pulled off the market, misdiagnoses resulting in death or permanent injury, and all other deliberate or accidental violations of a physician’s primary oath – “First, do no harm.”
It is true that healthcare and health insurance costs have risen astronomically. In Connecticut, health care premiums have gone up an average of $2,990 since President Bush took office. The culprit, however, is not overly high awards given to successful malpractice suits. The Major driving force behind the increased cost of Health Care is the skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs. The cost of the ten most popular prescription drugs has gone up and average 8.7 % over the last year alone. Prescription drugs now account for 23 percent of American's out-of-pocket costs.
The Drug Industry is the Most Profitable Industry In United States. According to the Minnesota Attorney General's Office, "[T]he pharmaceutical industry has been the most profitable industry in the United States for each of the past 10 years. In 2001, it was 5-1/2 times more profitable than the average of all other Fortune 500 companies."
Bush and national Republicans have taken more than $100 million from the pharmaceutical, health services, and insurance industries in the past few years, an investment that has been repaid many times over. Bush has consistently worked to keep the interests of industry ahead of patients' interests, meaning higher costs and fewer protections for American families.
In particular, these industries have given $112 million to national Republicans since 1999. What’s more, 43 health industry Bush-Cheney Pioneers and Rangers, (campaign contributors of over $100,000), raised at least $5.9 million. It has turned out to be a very lucrative investment. Since 2002, drug and insurance companies have received safeguards to ensure corporate profits, billions of dollars in taxpayers subsidies with no demands for accountability, special legal protections for industry, (breaking a GOP campaign pledge to protect consumers, less restricted access to confidential patient information, and now immunity to a patient’s last line of defense – the Court System.
My goal in these columns is to promote both truth and active citizenship, and action is what I encourage now. New legislation is about to be introduced in both the House and Senate during the next two weeks that threatens to follow-up on this dangerous GOP agenda. Congresswoman Nancy Johnson’s Washington office phone number is
202-225.4476. Senator Dodd’s is 202 244 2823, Senator Lieberman's is 202 244 4041. Ask for the staff person who handles healthcare issues and urge them to oppose these bills.
“Tort reform”, a term slammed together in 1992 by GOP spin guru, Frank Luntz, is propagated by corporations in the tobacco, drug, and asbestos industries, as well as others vulnerable to legal actions seeking damages for damages caused by their products. Proponents use the term to refer to legislative measures designed to limit the ability and potential damages available to individuals who take legal actions against these companies. It has become a cause celebre with the Bush administration, so much so, that Bush traveled all the way to Collinsville Illinois earlier this month to hawk his latest proposals.
“The United States Congress needs to pass real medical liability reform this year,” Bush said, slapping his lectern with an open palm to emphasize his point. Behind him, the White House advance team arrayed audience members in white medical coats. Bush warned of a crisis but said it could be averted if the Republican-controlled Congress adopts his plan.
“This liability system, I’m telling you, is out of control,” Bush said. While his proposal has stalled in the last Congress, expanded GOP majorities in both houses have given him and his cronies renewed hope.
The Bush rationale for this move, like so many of his rationales, is quite simple. He believes that a flurry of “Frivolous” class action lawsuits have driven up medical and insurance costs to the point where they are unaffordable. Also like many of Mr. Bush’s rationales, it is far from the truth. According to a recent study by the Center for American Progress, sixty-one percent of lawsuits brought alleging malpractice are dropped or dismissed, so the doctors win. Where lawsuits are shown to be frivolous, the plaintiff can be ordered to pay the legal bills of the defense. Thirty-two percent of such cases are settled. The average award for a successful malpractice suit, according to the National Practitioner Data Bank, (which receives all malpractice settlement and court award information by federal law), is $235,000. Awards of over $500,000 in both actual and punitive damages are rare enough to be newsworthy.
Though the numbers appear at first to be substantial, we are talking about the damage to people’s lives and health caused by dangerous drugs that have not been pulled off the market, misdiagnoses resulting in death or permanent injury, and all other deliberate or accidental violations of a physician’s primary oath – “First, do no harm.”
It is true that healthcare and health insurance costs have risen astronomically. In Connecticut, health care premiums have gone up an average of $2,990 since President Bush took office. The culprit, however, is not overly high awards given to successful malpractice suits. The Major driving force behind the increased cost of Health Care is the skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs. The cost of the ten most popular prescription drugs has gone up and average 8.7 % over the last year alone. Prescription drugs now account for 23 percent of American's out-of-pocket costs.
The Drug Industry is the Most Profitable Industry In United States. According to the Minnesota Attorney General's Office, "[T]he pharmaceutical industry has been the most profitable industry in the United States for each of the past 10 years. In 2001, it was 5-1/2 times more profitable than the average of all other Fortune 500 companies."
Bush and national Republicans have taken more than $100 million from the pharmaceutical, health services, and insurance industries in the past few years, an investment that has been repaid many times over. Bush has consistently worked to keep the interests of industry ahead of patients' interests, meaning higher costs and fewer protections for American families.
In particular, these industries have given $112 million to national Republicans since 1999. What’s more, 43 health industry Bush-Cheney Pioneers and Rangers, (campaign contributors of over $100,000), raised at least $5.9 million. It has turned out to be a very lucrative investment. Since 2002, drug and insurance companies have received safeguards to ensure corporate profits, billions of dollars in taxpayers subsidies with no demands for accountability, special legal protections for industry, (breaking a GOP campaign pledge to protect consumers, less restricted access to confidential patient information, and now immunity to a patient’s last line of defense – the Court System.
My goal in these columns is to promote both truth and active citizenship, and action is what I encourage now. New legislation is about to be introduced in both the House and Senate during the next two weeks that threatens to follow-up on this dangerous GOP agenda. Congresswoman Nancy Johnson’s Washington office phone number is
202-225.4476. Senator Dodd’s is 202 244 2823, Senator Lieberman's is 202 244 4041. Ask for the staff person who handles healthcare issues and urge them to oppose these bills.
posted by Unknown @ 11:20 AM
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