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Palin: Can't have health care reform without medical malpractice reform
By: Mark Tapscott
Editorial Page Editor
08/21/09 12:19 PM EDT
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| Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin gives her resignation speech July 26, 2009, in Fairbanks, Alaska. (AP Photo/Al Grillo) |
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has again taken to her Facebook page, again to position herself on a key aspect of the national debate over health care reform. Last week, it was on the "death panels" Palin believes will inevitably result if Obamacare becomes law.
This week, Palin takes on another aspect of the debate and stakes out a position that seems designed to highlight one of the biggest weaknesses of President Obama and Democratic congressional leaders - their dependance upon trial lawyers for funding.
Palin notes the inextricable link between controlling health care costs and getting spiralling medical malpractice insurance premiums under control, and quotes from a recent oped in The Washington Examiner by Texas Gov. Rick Perry discussing his state's success in lowering costs and expanding access by capping malpractice awards.
Palin also quotes extensively from research by Dr. Stuart Weinstein of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, including this graph:
”The medical liability crisis has had many unintended consequences, most notably a decrease in access to care in a growing number of states and an increase in healthcare costs. Access is affected as physicians move their practices to states with lower liability rates and change their practice patterns to reduce or eliminate high-risk services. When one considers that half of all neurosurgeons—as well as one third of all orthopedic surgeons, one third of all emergency physicians, and one third of all trauma surgeons—are sued each year, is it any wonder that 70 percent of emergency departments are at risk because they lack available on-call specialist coverage?”
She also quotes Weinstein's observations concerning the financial impact of medical malpractice costs on families:
"Excessive litigation and waste in the nation’s current tort system imposes an estimated yearly tort tax of $9,827 for a family of four and increases healthcare spending in the United States by $124 billion. How does this translate to individuals? The average obstetrician-gynecologist (OB-GYN) delivers 100 babies per year. If that OB-GYN must pay a medical liability premium of $200,000 each year (which is the rate in Florida), $2,000 of the delivery cost for each baby goes to pay the cost of the medical liability premium.”
Palin then asks Obama:
"So I have new questions for the president: Why no legal reform? Why continue to encourage defensive medicine that wastes billions of dollars and does nothing for the patients? Do you want health care reform to benefit trial attorneys or patients?"
Obama was asked about his position on medical malpractice caps when he addressed the American Medical Association in June. He said he opposed inclusion of such caps in the health care reform legislation making its way through Congress.
No surprise there because Obama and congressional Democrats, led by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, are captive to the American Association for Justice, the class-action plaintiffs lawyers' trade association and Washington lobbying outlet.
As the Examiner's David Freddoso noted last week:
An Examiner analysis of the 15 firms on the National Law Journal's "2008 Plaintiff's Hot List" shows that for 2009, their employees have contributed $636,305 to federal politicians and PACs. Only $4,875 of that amount has gone to Republicans, meaning that the nation's top trial lawyers are giving more than 99 percent Democratic this year. The PAC for the American Association of Justice, the top trial lawyer lobbying group, has been marginally more balanced, giving Democrats a mere 96 percent of its $627,000 in contributions.
These trial lawyers are especially concentrating on the Senate. Members of those same 15 firms have given $236,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee this year. And trial lawyers know that the Senate is controlled by one of their own -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who faces a potentially difficult re-election. Reid has taken in some $54,000 from the top 15 firms. According to OpenSecrets, he has taken $978,000 from the legal industry as a whole.
For what's it worth, Obama handily defeated Palin in a recent survey matching the incumbent against each of his potential GOP challengers for the 2012 presidential campaign, drawing 56 percent support compared to her 37 percent.
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