In the first two months of the year, physicians staged highly publicized walkouts in West Virginia and New Jersey over sharply rising premiums for malpractice insurance. The American Medical Association claims we have a “medical liability crisis” on our hands, and the solution is legislation limiting the amount of money juries can give malpractice victims. President Bush, ever eager to… return to article
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Reader Comments (6)Page 1 of 1 pagesThe health care industry and post-secondary education have the highest rate of cost growth of any economic sector often over 10%. These two sectors of the economy where the government is most involved are health care and post secondary education.
Computers selling for 2000 dollars just a few years ago are much improved and sell for under 600 today. Among automobiles the 1000 dollar car bought 100 years ago, now, adjusted for federal reserve inflation of 600% over the last century, sells for little more than 300 dollars. Among soft drinks in 1900 we paid 5cents for a 7oz drink. Now we pay 1.00 for a 20oz drink, after inflation this is 2cents for three times the soda.
Gas at the break-up of Standard Oil was 10cents a gallon(Standard had 60% market share at that time down from 80% at the beginning of the Federal action - does that remind anybody of Microsoft?) Today even with the all the world pressures and over 40cents of federal and state taxes after inflation adjustment it is less than 2cents a gallon. HDTV’s sold for $4000 in the mid 1990’s, today they sell for as low as $1300.
While everything else gets cheaper tuition and health care grow even after broad based inflation adjustments by 300% plus and the product unlike other sectors declines.The tort element is a minor factor, but currently critical factor in doctor costs, particularly in the OBGYN market, with the combination of recent large settlement and the bear market putting the squeeze on insurers and ultimately the insured. The governmental reporting burden namely at this time HIPPA digital requirements are the big cost drivers. Many smaller providers in order to avoid the HIPPA costs are returning to paper only billing. The amount of people employed to meet the government reporting or government driven reporting requirements is massive often in ratios of three or four to one reporters to providers and that is just at the retail site. Offering to pay cash to a doctor regularly drops a patients bill at least 10%. A group of doctor’s in Kentucky have stopped seeing insured patients at all, taking only cash in payment, to avoid reporting costs.
Note by cash I don’t mean under the table, but without insurance gov’t or ‘private.’
The death spiral which American health care has fallen into has been driven by government’s involvement in the market and the new belief among many Americans that health care is a right.
Posted by Carl Snodgrass on Mar 10, 2003 at 1:36 PM Every decision this president makes is about apealing to the largest and most influential number of voters. In this case Bush really does not even disenfranchise many voters, because he demonizes a basically small faceless group of people who have or have had law suits against doctors. Further, besides appealing to doctors he also gives the appearance to the public that he is looking out for the American people. This administration is sickening! It never really has to do with the issues, it always to do with appealing to largest possible demographics.
Posted by Dave on Mar 10, 2003 at 10:10 PM I disagree with the Bush $250K limit. However, if none of you have ever worked in a profession requiring liability insurance (which I suspect you have not) you may not be so quick to blame the doctors.
As a independent engineer, my first priority was the same: avoidance of liability. This cost my clients more money in the long run. I don’t think insurance companies are innocent, but the number of bizzare lawsuits we read about shows the tort system is broken. Whenever deep pockets are found some greedy clown will go after the gold.
Posted by McPAT on Mar 10, 2003 at 11:49 PM Great story! Well-researched! As “people who follow the rule of law” (at least when it is expedient), Americans have become overly dependent on legal means of resolving conflicts. Regrettably, most (if not all) attorneys, like physicians, have a financial conflict of interest nearly every time they try to help/serve/take $ from someone. We have a system problem here that exceeds the individual problem of incompetent and/or unprofessional doctors and attorneys. I’d like to hear ideas about solving these problems systematically.
Posted by Chris Keenan, MD on Mar 12, 2003 at 8:59 AM I have not yet gotten the chance to read the story, so please forgive me if you covered this.
I think that one reason for malpractice suits in nursing home cases is that suing is often the only option.
My husband was not adequately cared for in a Maryland sub acute care facility. He developed pressure sores that went all the way to the bone on both hips. Although I visited him every day, I didn’t see the sore because they were covered, and I was told to leave when the staff did wound-healing rounds. While Dan was ill, I divided my time between work and visiting him. When he died, I called Maryland’s Nursing Home Ombudsman to had a complaint put into the nursing home’s file about the treatment my husband had received. I wanted to get something on the books - to protect another person/family from going through the same thing. But, I was told, the only way to do something after my husband was dead was to sue. I’m sure Maryland is no alone with that procedure.
Posted by Susan Holleran on Apr 15, 2003 at 4:59 PM Page 1 of 1 pages -
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