Do you think healthcare costs would go down if malpractice lawsuits were reformed?

[Juicy D. Links]

One of the things overlooked by the current drama over healthcare reform is the fact that the threat of malpractice suits forces many doctors to prescribe more testing than they would otherwise. These tests' costs add up and drive up the total cost of care. Would reforming malpractice law on a national level result in lower health insurance costs? Of course, lawyers won't be happy about this since their recovery would be reduced.

[marketsmart]

health costs have to do more with fraud than anything else..

and of course corruption plays a major roll..

if 10000 people were to go to washington with automatic rifles and open fire at every public building, most of the countries problems wou;ld be solved (provided congress was in session at the time)

[DonovanTrent]

I think it would HELP, though the degree would not be what a lot of people think it is. There are MANY issues that would cause a greater % of change than tort reform, it's just an easy issue to cherrypick.

[Due]

I doubt it, in Denmark they tell some cancer patients that they can't help them and they are going to die, even though there is some treatments that would help with 55-65% success rate. BUT the don't know the side effects if they survive, so they just let them die and will continue doing so till the side effects is documented
In Denmark suing anyone for malpractice is not going to make you rich

[F-U-Jimmy]

One thing they could do is stop fucking playing games. Dr charge's $6000.00 for a treatment, insurance writes back saying it will pay only $400 Dr says OK. What a song and dance why not charge a reasonable amount and stop all these games backwards and forwards. I just had this very thing happen and its a farce..

[Juicy D. Links]

Originally Posted by F-U-Jimmy

One thing they could do is stop fucking playing games. Dr charge's $6000.00 for a treatment, insurance writes back saying it will pay only $400 Dr says OK. What a song and dance why not charge a reasonable amount and stop all these games backwards and forwards. I just had this very thing happen and its a farce..

I feel you. Also, insurance negotiations/claims adjustment during accidents. Bodily injury negotiations are the worst.

[Hentaikid]

Almost certainly. We don't have this kind of ambulance chasing in Europe, probably one reason our healthcare systems work.

[F-U-Jimmy]

Originally Posted by Hentaikid

Almost certainly. We don't have this kind of ambulance chasing in Europe, probably one reason our healthcare systems work.

Well its not working in the UK. The myth that its free is just that, a myth and people are dying before they receive medical attention

[mozadek]

There are states will legislation that puts a cap on malpractice lawsuit judgements and the cost of healthcare is still comparable with states that do not have such legislation.

[LiveDose]

Originally Posted by marketsmart

health costs have to do more with fraud than anything else..

and of course corruption plays a major roll..

if 10000 people were to go to washington with automatic rifles and open fire at every public building, most of the countries problems wou;ld be solved (provided congress was in session at the time)

I agree. Congress is the most corrupt and evil organization in this country.

[gwidomains]

It's not just malpractice

It's also hosipital, insurance company and Doctor fraud.

The guy in charge of CPR (conservative patients right's) company was fined 1.7 billion for fraud by the government.

[candyflip]

I just got a bill today (that's being paid by insurance) for my son's circumcision.

$978

I wouldn't surprised if 1/2 that goes to malpractice insurance.

My buddy is an orthopedic surgeon, and his monthly premiums would make you sick.

[psili]

Here's what needs to be done:

- Remove warning labels and let nature take it course on stupid people.
- Remove the following types of people from being able to receive any form of health care, or help of any kind:
- Those who park shopping carts mid-isle and chat with others
- Those who text message while driving
- Those who talk on cell phones in public; i.e. lines, theaters, restaurants, etc.
- Basically, all self-absorbed assholes.

Remove such people from the equation, and we'd be having a totally different discussion.

[marketsmart]

Originally Posted by psili

Here's what needs to be done:


- Those who text message while driving

Remove such people from the equation, and we'd be having a totally different discussion.

unfortunately those people usually kill others with their stupidity...

[Kingfish]

No, in my state we have had it for years 10+ and in fact other states often use our state?s medical malpractice laws as a model for their reforms. Medical Malpractice insurance rates haven?t gone down in our state and in fact they have gone up at the same or in some cases at even slightly higher rate than states that haven?t adopted such reforms. It has been a bad deal all around for the taxpayer as the promised benefit never materialized, but the taxpayer is now forced to pay the lifetime medical costs of people that were legitimately injured by malpractice. Anyway most of the health care studies seem to indicate that malpractice insurance costs make up 1% or less of the cost of health care.

Basically we have a cap of 250k against any one provider and you have to go through two trials to get that. The first one is before a panel of Doctors (lol what is the chance of winning that one). So basically for the injured party it takes twice as long to get your feeble recovery. We have a lot of people that have millions of dollars of years in lifetime medical costs, but they only get 250k less attorney?s fees. So the taxpayer ends up paying for it all. It has been a big win for the insurance companies, but a big loss for everyone else.

[HighEnergy]

Yes, I think med costs would go down if malpractice laws and caps had the uniformity that a Federal law would provide. As it is now about 1/2 the states already have damage award caps, but there are no consistent State to State laws.

You'll see the biggest difference from State to State where (if/how) they deal with non-economic damages. "Pain and suffering", "loss of companionship", etc, etc. The fact that States with caps on non-economic damages have about 12 percent more physicians per capita than States without a cap should tell us something.

Face it, attorneys are common parasites, they need to be fenced in by malpractice compensation caps mandated by country wide Federal laws and limitations.

Insurance companies fight legal battles facing vastly different malpractice laws and award precedents on a State by State basis. So yes, their premiums are high. They need to cover their ass for the unexpected since they deal with an ever changing playing field and set of rules. Federal malpractice laws 1) would provide the uniformity insurers need to develop effective policy structure, and 2) keep litigation in check.

For the record, I despise both attorneys and insurance companies. One begets the other.

[crockett]

Originally Posted by F-U-Jimmy

One thing they could do is stop fucking playing games. Dr charge's $6000.00 for a treatment, insurance writes back saying it will pay only $400 Dr says OK. What a song and dance why not charge a reasonable amount and stop all these games backwards and forwards. I just had this very thing happen and its a farce..

Because half the country doesn't have insurance and they charge those whom don't have it that $6k.

[pornlaw]

Originally Posted by HighEnergy

Yes, I think med costs would go down if malpractice laws and caps had the uniformity that a Federal law would provide. As it is now about 1/2 the states already have damage award caps, but there are no consistent State to State laws.

You'll see the biggest difference from State to State where (if/how) they deal with non-economic damages. "Pain and suffering", "loss of companionship", etc, etc. The fact that States with caps on non-economic damages have about 12 percent more physicians per capita than States without a cap should tell us something.

Face it, attorneys are common parasites, they need to be fenced in by malpractice compensation caps mandated by country wide Federal laws and limitations.

Insurance companies fight legal battles facing vastly different malpractice laws and award precedents on a State by State basis. So yes, their premiums are high. They need to cover their ass for the unexpected since they deal with an ever changing playing field and set of rules. Federal malpractice laws 1) would provide the uniformity insurers need to develop effective policy structure, and 2) keep litigation in check.

For the record, I despise both attorneys and insurance companies. One begets the other.

Quoted for truth... and in California we have malpractice caps and it is almost not worth filing a lawsuit as an attorney for medical malpractice in this state. I just turned down a decent malpractice claim because it is too costly to fund the litigation and the payout just isnt worth it. The woman was 70 yrs old and she had no economic damages. However, I do not think that California has lower rates because of the caps. It would have to be a federal law as indicated by HighEnergy.