Wednesday
Oct212009
House Democrat Says Tort Reform Won't Reduce Health Care Costs
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 at 2:49PM
By Leah Valencia, University of New Mexico- Talk Radio News Service
Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa), along with victims of medical malpractice, urged caution over pursuing tort reform Wednesday, warning that caps on court-awarded damages won’t reduce health care costs.
Braley, who has been working on America’s Affordable Health Choices Act since last March, said tort reform is not directly addressed in the bill, but that it does encourage early settlement in malpractice suits.
“At a time when people are trying to cap and restrict injured and deceased patients ability to recover full and fair compensation, it is time we get back we get back to taking about the underlying problem,” Braley said. “The easiest way to reduce the cost of medical malpractice in this country is to reduce the large number of preventable medical errors.”
Tort reform has been identified by Republicans as a way to reduce federal budget deficits by an estimated $54 billion over the next 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office, but there has been no commitment by Democratic leaders to include tort reform in a healthcare reform bill.
Braley stated that “defensive medicine” accounts for only 1.5 percent of the cost of care, and should not be included in a broader healthcare reform.
“I expect there to be further attempts by Republicans to push the tort reform agenda,” he said. “I am more interested in moving forward in a positive direction and getting the ultimate goal, improving patients safety, accomplished whenever we can.”
Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa), along with victims of medical malpractice, urged caution over pursuing tort reform Wednesday, warning that caps on court-awarded damages won’t reduce health care costs.
Braley, who has been working on America’s Affordable Health Choices Act since last March, said tort reform is not directly addressed in the bill, but that it does encourage early settlement in malpractice suits.
“At a time when people are trying to cap and restrict injured and deceased patients ability to recover full and fair compensation, it is time we get back we get back to taking about the underlying problem,” Braley said. “The easiest way to reduce the cost of medical malpractice in this country is to reduce the large number of preventable medical errors.”
Tort reform has been identified by Republicans as a way to reduce federal budget deficits by an estimated $54 billion over the next 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office, but there has been no commitment by Democratic leaders to include tort reform in a healthcare reform bill.
Braley stated that “defensive medicine” accounts for only 1.5 percent of the cost of care, and should not be included in a broader healthcare reform.
“I expect there to be further attempts by Republicans to push the tort reform agenda,” he said. “I am more interested in moving forward in a positive direction and getting the ultimate goal, improving patients safety, accomplished whenever we can.”
Reader Comments (5)
Braley is living in a fantasy world. Defensive medicine is exploding and is wasting billions of dollars. See www.MDWhistleblower.blogspot.com
A "loser pays" system would eliminate many law suits. England uses it successfully. The trial lawyers should not be able to make money off the sick and the promoters of fraud. We would be well off if there were no health insurance and the doctor/hospital had to deal directly with the patient.
Congressman Braley has it exactly right! Since the National Practitioner Data Bank began collecting data in 1990, in most states only about two percent of physicians have been responsible for over half of all the money paid out in malpractice payments. And frequently these two percent have multiple payments in their records but no action taken against their licenses or clinical privileges by state licensing boards or hospital peer reviewers. So they can continue to practice and harm additional patients. If you want to reduce costs -- and more importantly to reduce malpractice -- force the state medical boards to take action to protect patients.
Tort reform simply treats the symptoms and ignores the real problem. The Institute of Medicine says that about 100,000 people a year are killed by malpractice. Yet there are fewer than 20,000 malpractice payments each year for all causes, not just deaths. Clearly the way to save health care costs -- and lives and injuries -- is to reduce malpractice itself, not just sweep it under the rug by making it difficult or impossible for injured patients to seek damages from those who harmed them. That only transfers the costs from those who cause the injury to those who are injured.
I am a physician and this makes me so mad I can not stand it. This bill is beyond insulting. No tort reform any where in 1990 pages. Not a single one of my colleagues agrees with any of this madness. Make no mistake, we will be heard in the polling booths. Each and every one of those voting for this mess will be held accountable. So will the AMA for endorsing this.
Again doctors are showing their ignorance on this issue. Tort Reform only hurts victims of medical malpractice like myself. Everyday I live with a mistake my mother's doctor made during the delivery. It's like being punished for a crime somebody else committed. You blame lawyers because if you point the finger at victims, you're reveal yourselve as the cowards you are. The Republican philosphy is "personal responsibility". When are doctors going to realize if they started policing their own their medical malpractice insurance would drop? It's FACT 10% of doctors commit 90% of the medical malpractice. Start looking in the mirror instead of blaming the victims!