Civil justice reform is simple. It neither increases our taxes nor expands the federal bureaucracy.
What should be considered later this week when Congressional leaders and the White House sit down to discuss health reform?
As congressional leaders prepare to meet with the White House on health care reform later this week, most Americans believe that civil justice reform should be addressed. And physicians and other healthcare professional overwhelming support civil justice reform. These type of reforms offers the biggest hope of providing significant savings – $650 billion annually in defensive medicine costs alone.
Civil justice reform is simple. It neither increases our taxes nor expands the federal bureaucracy.
So as the debate continues in Washington over what to do about health reform, civil justice reform continues to be pushed to the back burner by the president and democratic leaders in Congress. While the president has repeatedly called for a closer examination of successful state-based civil justice reform solutions, we already know that civil justice reform works. States like Texas, California and Georgia have demonstrated that civil justice reform can also stem skyrocketing medical malpractice insurance premiums and how those costs are being passed along to the consumer.
California passed civil justice reforms more than 30 years ago, and malpractice premiums in several specialties are now as much as 50 percent lower than those in states such as New York, Pennsylvania and Florida. Texas adopted comprehensive legal reform in 2003, and more than 14,000 doctors have returned to the state or decided to move to Texas as a result of civil justice reforms. Communities in Texas that once did not have primary or specialty care doctors now have a full complement of physicians. Georgia passed civil justice reforms in 2005 and medical litigation insurance premiums have been steadily decreasing while the number of communities with access to a physician have increased.
It will take bold leaders willing to stand up to personal injury lawyers. If this Congress and this president are serious about health reform, civil justice should be addressed. There is a potential pot of $650 billion annually which could go to decreasing premiums for individuals and small employers. It could be used to reduce the rolls of the uninsured. It could go to improving patient safety and reducing medical errors.
There are many suggested reforms … including creating a “safe harbor” for physicians who employ best medical practices, caps on non-economic damages or so-called “pain and suffering” claims, and creating health courts which specialize in medical injury cases.
Civil Justice/TORT reform
Something that has bothered me for years is putting dollar amounts on legislation. It constantly keeps ‘dating’ the process. This is even seen in Amendment VII of our Bill of Rights.
Pain and suffering limits do not normally take into account a person’s fiscal status which is absolutely critical when considering loss. While $250,000 is peanuts to Bill Gates, for example, it is a pot of gold to the unemployed, and therefore can be seen as a ‘way out’ and a REASON to pursue a claim.
EXAMPLE ONLY: If a person loses their ability to continue in their career, perhaps the last four years of a person’s wages should be averaged and the UPPER LIMIT should be that amount times four- paid over four years- not in a lump sum. Lawyer fees should be limited as a portion of the award. Of course that would not limit a person’s ability to be re-trained into a new field of work if appropriate or cover the actual COST of their future medical needs.
Huge inappropriate lawsuits hurt us all. Insurance companies, doctors, patients and the public.
Our courts often go too far and award too much. Sometimes accidents just happen and barring real negligence, our doctor's and hospital's liabilities should be limited.
Real loss should be compensated for though.
Posted by: P. Laudenslager | 02/24/2010 at 12:35 PM