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What do the Politicians say?
In the debates with John Kerry President Bush seemed to blame the rise in insurance costs, loss of health insurance, as well as the lack of American companies investing in flu vaccine development on greedy trial lawyers.
John Kerry agreed that while the legal battles for malpractice payouts need reforming, they are only a small part of the cause. He pointed to different causes such as overpriced pharmaceuticals and unregulated insurance companies.
What are some of the factors involved?
Only 1 in 10 trail lawyers are qualified and able to bring forth a malpractice case. It costs a trail lawyer $100,000 to $150,000 to file suit on such a claim. The lawyer must have a highly skilled team of physicians and lawyers to evaluate the case in order to win for the plaintiff. If the lawyer does not win, they will lose their investment in the case; therefore, most trail lawyers will only take cases they feel have a very good chance of winning.
Republican legislators, along with insurance company lobbyists, push for caps on non-economic damages that can be awarded. Non-economic damages are pain and suffering for a patient. The individuals who primarily will lose because of such caps are children, the elderly, and stay-at-home moms. Because these individuals do not work, and thus have no economic damages, trial lawyers are not likely to take their claims. It simply is not economically feasible for trail lawyers to gamble $150,000 for a cap of $250,000 in non-economic damages these individuals would receive. If this is so, then a child that is injured due to medical malpractice would not get any compensation or justice for the injury.
While insurance companies are required payouts when a plaintiff is awarded for economic and non-economic damages, there are other alternatives than increasing the malpractice premiums to physicians.
The rise in malpractice insurance has affected all physicians, but it disproportionately affects certain specialties such as OB/GYN because the damage award for this specialty is one of the highest. The insurance companies, for example, could spread the risk of a malpractice case in one specialty across other premiums they offer.
The insurance companies’ investment endeavors could be regulated to low-risk investments instead of higher-risk investments such as the stock market. Basically, if the insurance companies lose their customer’s money in a volatile stock market, they will increase premiums to balance out the losses. This is, however, an area of reform that has gotten the least attention from either the Democrat or Republican parties.
Government could also subsidize the high risk involved with certain medical specialties through a catastrophic injury fund and require the insurance companies to reduce their premiums. This has been tried by certain State Legislatures, but it draws significant criticism from Insurance lobbyists.
The decisions made in the U.S. Congress and State Legislatures are, more often than not, influenced by the interest groups that are the loudest rather than the alternatives and logical solutions available. Physician groups and insurance companies lobby for malpractice reform and tend to favor the Republican Party. Trail lawyers lobby for other alternatives than caps on non-economic damages and tend to favor the Democratic Party.
The problem I see, which is true of many social problems, is that there is no influential interest group representing and lobbying for the patients who will ultimately be affected by such legislation. It is up to you to decide which candidate you believe after seeing all sides to an issue.
In the end, it is your vote and your vote alone that puts a politician in power to make these decisions. Even after a politician is elected, it is up to you to hold them accountable to your interests. Special interests groups will continue lobby the halls of Congress aggressively, but the power of your vote is the final word.
Remember to Vote on November 2nd and let your voice be heard!
Still undecided? Check out: www.presidentmatch.com to see who fits you best.
And, as always, I appreciate any feedback on issues you would like to see covered in this column. Please send your feedback to
contact@nripulse.com.
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