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Dean says Obamacare authors don't want to challenge trial lawyers

By: Mark Tapscott
Editorial Page Editor
08/26/09 5:50 PM EDT

Democratic National Committee Chairman, Howard Dean(Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Whatever else he said Wednesday evening at the town hall hosted by Rep. Jim Moran, D-VA, former Democratic National Committee chairman and presidential candidate Howard Dean let something incredibly candid slip out about President Obama's health-care reform bill in Congress.

Asked by an audience member why the legislation does nothing to cap medical malpractice class-action lawsuits against doctors and medical institutions (aka "Tort reform"), Dean responded by saying: “The reason tort reform is not in the [health care] bill is because the people who wrote it did not want to take on the trial lawyers in addition to everybody else they were taking on. And that’s the plain and simple truth,”

Dean is a former physician, so he knows about skyrocketing medical malpractice insurance rates, and the role of the trial lawyers in fueling the "defensive medicine" approach among medical personnel who order too many tests and other sometimes unneeded procedures "just to be sure" and to protect themselves against litigation.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry recently described in an Examiner oped the medical-malpractice caps enacted by the state legislature at his urging that reversed a serious decline in the number of physicians practicing in the Lone Star state and the resulting loss of access to quality medical care available to Texas residents. Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbor also shared some of his successes in this area in a recent Examiner oped.

Credit goes to the American Tort Reform Association's Darren McKinney for catching this momentary outbreak of political honesty by Dean. McKinney has conveniently posted an audio recording of Dean speaking here, so you can listen for yourself. Mckinney has also offered more comment here, helpfully even including a link to the Examiner's recent analysis of the degree to which trial-lawyer political contributions go to Democrats in Congress.

Those contributions are why Dean knows it would be a difficult task indeed for Obama to persuade congressional Democrats to do anything that might offend the trial-lawyers lobby. The Examiner's David Freddoso and Kevin Mooney did the reporting on this link here.

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Reader Comments

All comments on this page are subject to our Terms of Use and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Examiner or its staff. Comment box is limited to 250 words.

ggordon

Aug 27, 2009

...I just fell out of my chair. Dean telling the truth? ...and about the Dem's cozy relationship with lawyers? Hell froze.

drjohn

Aug 27, 2009

Thank you for that, Howard. This makes crystal clear who holds the reins of power in the Democratic party. It is exactly why this plan should fail.

FBO!

Aug 27, 2009

Hey Libs. Either face down and neuter the trial lawyers....or we will neuter you. You are all corrupt cowards.

higgins1990

Aug 27, 2009

If the real issue was reducing health care costs, this might be a story.

But since the real issue is government control, then the proper response to Dean's comment is, well, duh.

Bill

Aug 27, 2009

YouTube video of Dean and Moran. Including Dean's comments regarding tort reform.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaMj-WUC-aE

Aug 27, 2009

“Justice is the greatest concern
of man on earth.” -D. Webster

"The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers." - W. Shakespeare,
Henry The Sixth, Pt. 2 Act 4

Ben Blankenship

Aug 27, 2009

Omitting tort reform from the health care bills tells everyone that Obama and his promoters aren't a bit serious in their pronouncements about the supposed benefits. Even dishonest, one might conclude with justification.

GarandFan

Aug 27, 2009

So Howie admits that the Democrats concern about health care insurance reform and cost reduction is a farce?

platypus

Aug 27, 2009

This explains the flock of flying pigs I saw. Did anybody know that they fly in V formation just like geese?

Independent in Pa

Aug 27, 2009

Trial Lawyers,Racial Spoils Hucksters and Union Bosses.The Democratic Party in rest and motion.

wesleywhatwhat

Aug 27, 2009

dean is the one man i trust to speak the truth on health care reform.

sadly, obama CAN'T take on all the entrenched interest groups at once, but his approach is valid - first the insurance companies (who would be against ANY insurance reform anyway), then the lawyers down the line.

depaz

Aug 28, 2009

Wesley - Actually, I think the lawyers should be hit FIRST. It's BECAUSE of LAWYERS that insurance rates are what they are.

karl kurt

Aug 28, 2009

Isn't all this about lawyers anyways!
What a surprise, nothing but a bunch of 'legalized corrupts'... nothing else!

Dan

Aug 28, 2009

dean is the one man i trust to speak the truth on health care reform? the insurance company's want a public option because some of there backers ..drug company's will double bill of there drugs on that public option(30.00 for a pill in the ER) tell them to stop giving money to business that need to fail because of poor management and let ones spring up. there is no such thing as a free lunch people someone pays some where. sometimes the cost is too high for all involved !!!

shep55

Sep 2, 2009

While reading the article and blogs, something stuck out at me as being odd. Mr.whatwhat you seem to give Mr.Dean a lot of credit.If he were running for office, I wonder if he would be so forth comming? Also,are you a political insider? You seem to know a great deal about Obama's strategies. I know he sounds nice, and you want to believe in him, but isn't it a little naive to think Obama isn't taking on the trial lawyers because he " CAN'T take on all the special interest groups at once"? You see I like Obama too, as a community organizer; not a President. Therefore, my gut tells me he isn't taking on the trial lawyers, because he is just as dependent on their contributions as any other politician. This is evident when you take a look at his prior political dealings.

Robert

Sep 2, 2009

Without tort reform, health care reform is simply empty words.

Gregory W. Meegan

Sep 5, 2009

I am suffering the after effects from a stroke caused by ther Malpractice of my Cardiologist who was neglant in following my blood status and the hospital that should have known better . It has caused Medicare a fortune to only half fix me . The doctor's insurance should be made to pay for all the grief He has caused meand the tax payers . Look what caused the MRS Shievo death . Medical malpractice. Malpractice cost less than a half percent of the over health costs, The Malpractice is the only that you can stop the incompentant or lazy doctors .

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Dean says Obamacare authors don't want to challenge trial lawyers

By: Mark Tapscott
Editorial Page Editor
08/26/09 5:50 PM EDT