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A Gift for the Lawyers
Posted By Jennifer Rubin On October 30, 2009 @ 10:43 AM In Contentions | Comments Disabled
A friend points out a little nugget of absurdity and political mendacity in the Pelosi health-care bill. Remember Obama’s effort to try a “test” for tort reform? (We don’t actually need a test, since it has worked to lower medical malpractice coverage and help increase access to doctors in states that have tried it.) Well, Pelosi’s bill has an anti-tort-reform measure. On pages 1431-1433 [1] of the 1990 spellbinder, there is a financial incentive for states to try “alternative medical liability laws.” But look — you don’t get the incentive if you have a law that would “limit attorneys’ fees or impose caps on damages.”
That’s what the trial lawyers get for the millions spent in supporting the Democratic party, and that’s what tort “reform” in the Alice-in-Wonderland world of health-care legislation amounts to. States will be strong-armed into repealing existing caps in order to get the Fed’s money. Sweet, huh? Well, unless you thought the aim was to reduce medical costs. No, this will go a long way toward ensuring that tort lawyers remain rich, malpractice insurance remains high, and unnecessary defensive medicine remains a fixture of the health-care system. Nice going, Nancy!
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[1] 1431-1433: http://documents.nytimes.com/the-house-s-health-care-bill/page/1431#p=1431
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Comments Disabled To "A Gift for the Lawyers"
#1 Pingback By Anti-reform incentives in House health bill On October 30, 2009 @ 1:02 PM
[...] Rubin at Commentary has the scoop on how the bill’s language will reward states financially if they do not “limit [...]
#2 Pingback By Buried on page 1431: Potemkin tort reform On October 30, 2009 @ 3:21 PM
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#4 Pingback By Hot Air » Blog Archive » Dems: You can have tort reform … On October 31, 2009 @ 9:41 AM
[...] damages, such as those already in place in California and a handful of other states. Jen Rubin at Commentary notices that Nancy Pelosi’s bill does actually allow for tort reform on pages 1431-1433 of [...]
#5 Pingback By Moe Lane » Nancy Pelosi’s non-tort reform. On October 31, 2009 @ 10:00 AM
[...] Jen Rubin: Remember Obama’s effort to try a “test” for tort reform? (We don’t actually need a test, since it has worked to lower medical malpractice coverage and help increase access to doctors in states that have tried it.) Well, Pelosi’s bill has an anti-tort-reform measure. On pages 1431-1433 of the 1990 spellbinder, there is a financial incentive for states to try “alternative medical liability laws.” But look — you don’t get the incentive if you have a law that would “limit attorneys’ fees or impose caps on damages.” [...]
#6 Pingback By Nancy Pelosi’s non-tort reform. – Moe_Lane’s blog – RedState On October 31, 2009 @ 10:00 AM
[...] Jen Rubin: Remember Obama’s effort to try a “test” for tort reform? (We don’t actually need a test, since it has worked to lower medical malpractice coverage and help increase access to doctors in states that have tried it.) Well, Pelosi’s bill has an anti-tort-reform measure. On pages 1431-1433 of the 1990 spellbinder, there is a financial incentive for states to try “alternative medical liability laws.” But look — you don’t get the incentive if you have a law that would “limit attorneys’ fees or impose caps on damages.” [...]
#7 Pingback By Shopfloor » Blog Archive » The (Lawyers’) Limits on Health Care Reform On November 3, 2009 @ 7:26 AM
[...] possible even as early as Friday. Jennifer Ruben at Commentary reports the legal element, “A Gift for Lawyers“: A friend points out a little nugget of absurdity and political mendacity in the Pelosi [...]