What health care crisis?
Doctors and other medical professionals in the United States are the best in the world. Every County and State have multiple Health care facilities in addition to Emergency First responders. Hospitals by law, Cannot refuse treatment for any reason. Yet, I watch the politicians and many would have you feel that this system is a disaster. How can this be? It Can’t because there is no crisis at all. We keep on hearing how 47 million people have no health insurance. Putting aside the fact that there are those that suggest many of these either are illegal Immigrants or Simply do not have any because they pay cash. This entire debate on it’s face is a false issue. There is no health care crisis. It can be debated that there IS a health insurance crisis however. Simply put, Health care and insurance is expensive. I can give you one big reason that is a large part of the problem. The first is that every doctor has to pay huge amounts of money for Medical malpractice insurance. My own doctor who is also a friend has to pay $250,000 every year here in New York. The primary reason is the malpractice lawsuits are usually huge payouts. John Edwards himself became a multi millionaire this way. There are no caps on the amount of money rewarded. This is the real heart of this “Crisis” How many times have you read about a minor injury resulting in a huge reward? Now there are things that happen that are tragic and life time medical care is needed. Of course if there is fault or negligence, There should be a large payout. But this should not be the case if you burn yourself with Macdonald’s coffee while your driving for example! The expense of heath insurance is the issue. and a large part of the problem is the political lack of honesty on the part of some Republicans and far more Democratic politicians to address the need for Tort reform because the trial lawyers contribute a ton of money to see that it is not addressed. That in my view is a big part of the problem.
Tags: Mr Joshua
I’ve always said that healthcare reform will must start with tort reform. Once that is done, affordability will not be an issue for a HUGE percentage of those for whom it is an issue now. THEN let’s talk about “single payer”, uninsured children, small business benefits, ect. Until you’re willing to institute REAL tort reform, the just SHUT UP about healthcare reform. Fixing healthcare first is like rebuilding a perfectly good motor on a vehicle with a transmission that’s going out.
100% agree – I’ve said the same thing until I’m blue in the face. Obama talks about docs performing unnecessary tests and procedures as if they are doing it with profit in mind. Some may be, but the reality is most do so as a CYA to avoid malpractice claims.
That would require real “reform”. I don’t think any of us believe that is what they are really after!
And I can tell you right now that I don’t think ANYONE in Congress, not even conservatives, are for real reform, because they stand to be hurt directly.
Medicare / Medicaid needs to be reformed big time. They, in addition to malpractice suits are climbing the healthcare costs. Medicare is growing it steadily overtime for this reason.
Medicare/Medicaid won’t fully cover many prodecures, especially “unnessisary” preventative care ones. They pay the facility a percentage of a rate and let the hospital eat the rest of the costs. Those hospitals, like any business, is going to turn that cost over to the “consumer”.
Say an chest x-ray costs $1,000 (nice round # for example reason). Medicare is only going to cover 80% of that cost and the hospital eats the other $200. So the next fiscal quarter that same x-ray magically costs $1,200 now. The Hospital gets the full $1000 from medicare, plus an extra 200 from uninsured cash-payers, and the inflation cycle continues.
^^^ grossly oversimplified but the fact remains ^^^
There is one more reason the number covered is skewed, a lot of married couples where both work carry insurance through just one of the employers, therefore making it seem as if the family is not covered by the others employer.
mart….is that right?….would I fall under the “uninsured” because both my wife and I have insurance offered through work, but I opt out of mine because her coverage is better?
If so, those numbers are truly a sham…..
And just so everyone knows how truly ridiculous the cost of health insurance is…..I work for one of the largest heath insurers in the country and I am on my wife’s insurance because it is better and more cost effective….
I am with most of you…..tort reform is where the impetus needs to be placed…if this was done, not only would insurance costs come down, but more employers would be offering insurance due to lower premiums and the ranks of the uninsured would magically fall as well.
TC
Another factor that can’t be overlooked is the high costs and high uninsured numbers associated with the illegals here. Most of the time they go to the emergency room which we all realize are more expensive than through a private physician.
At the same time, is tort reform a federal issue or is it one of states’ rights, as most tort cases are heard in state courts?
On an aside, this is why in less populated areas, doctors in certain specialties are nonexistent—insurance costs drive them out of the field.
Here is the CBO numbers as printed in 2003. It clearly states that the majority of the cases are indeed made in the state courts. However it also shows pretty clearly that if you want a big settlement you need to get it into the Federal Court system. So to answer 1 question no they would not be over reaching their bounds by reforming the process. Secondly as to the amount of doctors of different specialties being rarely found in rural areas, most of these specialties require additional training, equipment and expense. It makes no sense for a specialist to be in practice when there is such a small amount clients for them to serve. Add to that the lack of equipment and you are basically rendering that doctor to a role of basic uselessness.
http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=4641&type=0&sequence=3
In this state, you probably don’t need to get it into federal court.
But another problem regarding this is that whenever a settlement is proposed, the doctor’s name is often removed as part of it (when the doctor is not self-employed), essentially evading the system. At the same time, you have lawyers making big gambles, although one locally (by me) recently blew up big-time, when a lawyer turned down an $8M settlement for a severe injury, only for the jury to rule in favor of the hospital.
OUCH! But I guess the states would have to ammend their own rules. Don’t you think if the Feds were to do tort reform the states would be more apt to follow? I’m not holding my breath mind you!
I agree with Tort law reform. The Healthcare megabuck promotion was hardly that,,,empty air. Just like the kind of service national healthcare would bring. Oh, and yet MORE wasteful, innefficient gov office spaced out people slowing the cogs of life.
That issue though: would the feds be overstepping their boundaries by legislating it? I don’t see federal tort reform having any tooth, because such is normally waged in state courts.
Adam. Those malpractice cases without cost parameters and the lawyers encouraging its life, need curtailment as this is one of the huge costs. Can states work this? This would be interesting and good as well.
That would be the interesting part. The real problem is that there are more lawyers (by trade) than businessmen (by trade) in state legislatures.
BTW—I’m not sure tort reform is the answer as much as making sure that if a doctor is sued, a judge must rule that the doctor was NOT responsible before approving a settlement. That way, a three-strikes rule can be enforced.
That may be a partial solution Adam, but tort reform is long past due in this country. Not just medical malpractice. McDonald’s coffee, dry cleaner, etc.
I heard a little blurb on FOX this morning as I was getting ready for work. They were talking to Michael Steele and brought up the fact that upwards of 500 billion dollars a year is spent in one form or another on legal issues dealing with healthcare. I don’t care what your circumstance in life, that is big time money!
Adam (New York) says:
June 29, 2009 at 11:15 pm
That would be the interesting part. The real problem is that there are more lawyers (by trade) than businessmen (by trade) in state legislatures
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maybe look at it from a different angle,…limit the lawyer fee to $1,000 per case, regardless of settlement. Limit the number of experts to one each side.
I’ve actually recommended declaring open season on lawyers, but for some reason that idea just doesn’t seem to get any traction. Go figure.
So now it’s okay to limit lawyer’s pay?
See what a slippery slope we get on when trying to reform something at the government level? I don’t think limiting pay is the answer, but capping the amount of punative damages may be a start in the right direction. Not actual damages mind you, when you are harmed you do deserve to be compensated but, it seems the largest amount of any judgement is the punative awards. If someone has done something to deserve such punative damages, why not punish them criminally?
Gregg says:
June 30, 2009 at 10:19 am
See what a slippery slope we get on when trying to reform something at the government level? I don’t think limiting pay is the answer, but capping the amount of punative damages may be a start in the right direction. Not actual damages mind you, when you are harmed you do deserve to be compensated but, it seems the largest amount of any judgement is the punative awards. If someone has done something to deserve such punative damages, why not punish them criminally?
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and by the time the victim pays the lawyer and the experts, there is nothing left. A service should be worth a set amount. You a set amount for an car service, for a dr visit, for a repair. set an amount for suits.
cmon guys…healthcare should be a RIGHT , in the best country in the world
I don’t know that calling it a “Right” makes a difference one way or the other. It inserts an issue where none exists. I think the way we should look at this instead is to look at is as equality of access, much as we have tried to do in regards to race in this country. We all have compassion for our fellow travellers in this world. We have all heard the horror stories when it comes to the healthcare system, I just don’t see why the government has to “take it over”. Does it need to be improved? Absolutely! But why not get all sides together to fix it right rather than shut people out of the debate?
Enlightened Atheist says:
June 30, 2009 at 11:02 am
cmon guys…healthcare should be a RIGHT , in the best country in the world
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why?
Enlightened Atheist says:
June 30, 2009 at 11:02 am (Edit)
cmon guys…healthcare should be a RIGHT , in the best country in the world
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Hi EA. We all showed up this weekend to give you the company you requested and you bailed on us – what’s up with that?!
Seriously, if you presume one has a right to health care with no means to pay for it, doesn’t that essentially means I have the right to conscript someone into providing medical services? As a compassionate nation we don’t want to leave those who truly cannot afford service out on the street, but I don’t think that means they have a right to anything.
BO on now talking about healthcare again…does he ever stop talking? I think he loves hearing his own voice, plus most of what he is saying is absolutely not true.
I’ll make this short. Medical care should and must be between the patient and the Doctor with no Government interferance.The Doctor is trained to Diagnose, the patient is the ill one…..
Estimates of fraud reach as much as $800 Bn per year. Get rid of fraud and the savings would finance a 20 percent increase in service capacity, which is enough to take care of another 45 million patients. Does this sound too hard to do? Well, fraud in this country is beginning to be a way of business. Doctors estimate that 30 percent of their costs are due to avoiding malpractice law suits. So a modification to tort law, combined with elimination of fraud would more than take care of this non-existent Health Care Crisis. But, remember this, Bozo and Rahm have made the garden variety manufactured, phony “crisis” their main tool for passing the most oppressive laws in the land. It is their way of doing business the “Chicago Way”.
I’m with you 100% Undertaker!