Healthcare Reform or Tort Reform?

The GOP has adopted one of their favorite talking points to help defeat healthcare reform. Instead of offering a better plan, or even a plan, they're suggesting that we enact TORT REFORM. Unfortunately, if they ever paid attention to statistics, they'd realize that not only are lawsuits not contributing to insurance rates, but states that have enacted tort reform are seeing higher malpractice insurance rates than those that haven't. Mike Papantonio of Air America's Ring of Fire appears on CNBC's "Power Lunch" to debate the issue.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Tort Reform
• Healthcare Reform
• Michael Steele
• Phillip Howard
• CNBC
• Power Lunch
• Politics
• Lawyer
• Lawsuit
• Malpractice
• Chamber of Commerce
• Mike Papantonio
• Air America
• Ring of Fire
• GoLeftTV
• GoLeft.tv

[NonSoccerFan]

Mike Papantonio is an absolute joke. He is a complete disgrace to the legal profession all over this country, and he is one of the 99% of lawyers who give the other 1% a bad name. He is the embodiment of the biggest special interest in this country - TRIAL LAWYERS - that provides the largest source of funding to the Democratic Party coffers. Howard Dean was right - the Democrats don't have the courage to bite the hand that feeds by enacting sensible tort reform in all states.

[kipptumor]

Ask the typical right-winger what a reasonable cap is for them losing their eyesight - They will either shut up or be dicks and say "nothing- surgery is a risk". Wow! We all have to carry insurance when we buy a house, drive a car, or buy into health insurance (although denial is rampant), so to hear doctors cry about having to pay high insurance premiums, forgive me, but I think we are ALL familiar with high premiums.

[kipptumor]

Bitching and moaning about tort reform seems to be an effective (if not inane) talking point for the GOP because it sounds sensible, but when you put the actual amount paid out in settlements into perspective, it is as effective as a fly-swatter against a charging rhino. Republicans again, gave the same tired "ideas" to improve health care costs in America: savings accounts and tort reform - both as worthless as the shit-filled, rotting corpse of John Wayne.

[mmantech]

i really dont like these big business right wing tv channels. it came off as they were ganging the trial lawyer.

[bodryn]

There is already tort reform in 43 states. If tort reform worked, health care premiums in all those states would have gone down.  Duh?

[uninvolved]

Also, I meant the Kessler-McClellan has been discredit, not the CBO study that tried to replicate the Kessler-McClellan study. Thanks. Also, the reason I ask for a new link is because I can't get this one to come up. Thanks again.

[uninvolved]

If you could post a better link we might be able to nail down the discrepancy in the numbers. It's my contention that the study your article sites probably uses the bogus Kessler-McClellan study numbers to inflate the savings. The CBO (iirc) tried to replicated the Kessler-McClellan and came up with entirely different numbers. That study has long been discredited. Thanks.

Moreover, I'm not interested in what Pelosi does. I am only interested in credible studies.

[brewersrule1978]

Uh, here's something a TAD more current from Oct 10, 2009: washingtonpostdotcom/wp-dyn/co­ntent/article/2009/10/09/AR200­9100904271dothtml

$54bil in savings according to this recent study from a liberal source like the Post tells, when added to the fact that Pelosi snuck a provision into her bill stating any states that imposed caps on lawsuits wouldn't get any HC $, tells me this just MAY be a lie from the lawyer-backed Dem party about "no savings" from tort reform.

[uninvolved]

The CBO in 2004 found that there was no difference in per capita spending for states with or without caps on damages.

Limiting Tort Liability for Medical Malpractice, Congressional Budget Office, January 8, 2004.

There is the answer to the question he couldn't answer.

[uninvolved]

The CBO in 2004 found that there was no difference in per capita spending for states with or without caps on damages.

Limiting Tort Liability for Medical Malpractice, Congressional Budget Office, January 8, 2004.

There's your answer.