Did someone say TORT TART?
Posted on 09/11/2009 4:30:20 AM PDT by radar101
On Wednesday the president told Congress "I will not stand by while the special interests use the same old tactics to keep things exactly the way they are." In fact, the administration is standing by to allow its most special, special interest to drive this debate. What the tort bar wants, the tort bar gets. Health insurers should be so lucky.
The legal question has become the starkest symbol of a broken health discussion, and offers insight into this presidency. For Republicans, legal reform has become a litmus test, proof that Democrats have no interest in a deal, and therefore a reason to step back. For many Americans, legal reform has become proof that President Obama is more interested in an ideological triumph than his stated goal of lowering health costs.
Tort reform is a policy no-brainer. Experts on left and right agree that defensive medicine—ordering tests and procedures solely to protect against Joe Lawyer—adds enormously to health costs. The estimated dollar benefits of reform range from a conservative $65 billion a year to perhaps $200 billion.
During the markup of a bill in the Senate Health Committee, Republicans offered 11 tort amendments that varied in degree from mere pilot projects to measures to ensure more rural obstetricians. On a party line vote, Democrats killed every one. Rhode Island senator and lawyer Sheldon Whitehouse went so far as to speechify on the virtues of his tort friends. He did not, of course, mention the nearly $900,000 they have given him since 2005, including campaign contributions from national tort powerhouses like Baron & Budd and Motley Rice.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Only his special interests that line his pockets, Chi-town crook.
For those who didn’t know.....Mr. Obama is instead directing his secretary of health and human services to move forward on test projects (tort reform).
The HHS Secretary would be Kathleen Sebelius, who spent eight years as the head of the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association.
Did someone say TORT TART?
OK, that is just totally wrong.
I had a general practicioner tell me, based on preliminary tests he had run, I had “one chance in a million” of having any heart disease, BUT, he had to send me to a cardiologist “just to make sure”. So to me, it seems like the lawyers have managed to take out all doctor judgement from the diagnostic process. Test after expensive test is run mostly to protect the doctor. I’m not blaming the doctors, I don’t think they have much choice. Tort reform is like a big elephant in the Senate and House that the president and Dem’s want to ignore and pretend it would not make a difference.
That has to be the most conflicted image ever.
I was looking for the picture of Kerry embracing him, but this one seemed so much better :)
Transparency????
Texas has already done tort reform - successfully. States that have done 'gov option' have found that it does not work.
If there is going to be a 'demonstration project', let's look at ALL of them that have already been done.
What would expect for a Breck Cover Girl?
Zero and the Democrats don’t have the guts to go for meaningful tort reform.
Not to mention the gifts to the trade unions in the bill outlined in yesterday’s WSJ.
I can’t say that I dislike this body!!!
DEMAND REAL TORT REFORM!!!
That's tort reform you can believe in.
DITTO
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