Tort Refom 0n Health Insurance Reform

If a so-called "reform" bill comes up with these elements - no employer mandate, strong individual mandate, market rates for everything, no real insurance reform - there is no reason to vote for it. It is worse than no bill at all.
I reviewed your comments closely and what I have not seen or heard is anything that includes tort reform. We know that this bilks out billions of dollars that could be used toward delivery of care. Among the issues are costs for repetitive tests, astronomical premiums for malpractice insurance to all providers, not just doctors. All nurses, therapists, hospitals,outpatient service entities must pay these premiums BEFORE the FIRST patient receives any services. In the mix of all those to be paid in the health care delivery/provider cycle is the amount of money that is frittered away to cover litigation costs for this very sophisticated system we call health care. YES, DEFINITELY, we NEED a way to protect patients from unscrupulous practices. BUT, let us LOOK how this present system of "protection" is SUCKING the life out of the costs reduction efforts. A better approach is to put before PEER review entities outside local care to look at complaints, rather than to allow juries that are not knowledgeable about health care practices to make decisions that are just. It could require practitioners to participate on a fair rotation so that no one gains too much power over this entity. And it also has the benefit of being a continuing educational tool for those serving on it. I can tell you that I learn as much from my journals in the review of cases as I do in reading dry research projects. It puts a human face on the case at hand. This takes litigation OUT of the third parties with the possibility of great financial gain! Claims looked at for Buffalo, NY could be reviewed by a PEER Panel in Omaha. Omaha's claims could be reviewed by PEER review panel in Miami. Miami could be reviewed by PEERS in Denver. If all these claims were done ANONYMOUSLY and without monetary gain by the reviewers, but the insurer would have to pay for the costs of helping the patient pay for his health care that was required for "fixing" the error and an award for pain and suffering that could be reasonable for both, we would see very few of these "jackpot" awards going to attorneys and little to the clients. Frivolous suits would be kept to a minimum, especially if appeals were allowed a LIMIT in terms of restitution. This is a huge part of costs and it could be a substantial reduction in pay outs by insurance companies, dollars that would go to payments of real services. Third party rewards for health care that they do not deliver is like a leach sucking the blood out of the host. It did take a while for health care to document this, my God George Washington even used leeches in times of illness, but we have come a long way since then! It is time for the health care system to document this for the health of patients, the delivery system and the economy so that we can use those dollars to deliver health care to the people, who need it and not dollars to those who stand by watch to see if a mistake is made. That is a diagnosis we can make and we can cure it. Other suggestions we have been hearing are not conclusive. Let us get STARTED on the problem we know we can help.
There are needs that require insurance reform, those have a whole host of problems that ARE being talked about, but the tort reform issue seems totally neglected. A neglected patient can not get well, nay the patient who is neglected, has no hope of surviving.
When a very sick patient comes to the hospital with many illnesses, the most manageable problems are tackled first, so that the others CAN be addressed. Let us NOT obfuscate the whole system, when there are AREAS to BEGIN the process. This is a journey, this not parking lot.

Posted by: Lauragail