KEEP TORT REFORM OUT OF THE HEALTHCARE REFORM DEBATE

I try not to be too political, but sometimes I hear too many falsities and I say enough is enough. The shift in the health care reform discussion to tort reform is one of those times. I am tired of radio hosts, television guests and politicians trying to convince America that there are too many medical malpractice lawsuits. The research proves them wrong. Before you jump on their bandwagon, did you know the following?

1. According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and Congressional Budget Office (CBO), costs associated with medical malpractice lawsuits are a tiny percentage of health care costs  less than one and a half percent of overall spending.
   
   
2. Medical malpractice suits are less than one percent of the entire civil caseload, and have been declining for nearly a decade.
   
   
3. According to Harvard research, only one in eight negligently injured patients file a malpractice claim.
   
   
4. Researchers at the Harvard University School of Public Health have found that nearly all medical malpractice negligence claims are meritorious with 80% involving physical injuries resulting in major disability or death.
   
   
5. One radio host claimed yesterday that all doctors are ordering every test in the book so prevent them from being sued. This is called "defensive medicine." The GAO and CBO have found no evidence of so-called defensive medicine, instead determining that some doctors run additional tests to generate more income or help diagnose patients. Even officials from the American Medical Association have told GAO that "defensive medicine . . . is difficult to measure." The CBO and GAO have both concluded that eliminating defensive medicine would have only a minimal impact on reducing overall health care costs.
   
   
6. The Institute of Medicine estimates that 98,000 people die each year in the US from preventable medical errors.  This is the sixth leading cause of death in America.
   
   
7. Hospital-acquired infections kill 90,000 patients each year.
   
   
8. The federal government is big enough. Let the States do their job! 48 states have already enacted medical malpractice tort reform measures. In Florida, if medical malpractice causes the death of an unmarried person with no children under the age of 25, there is NO claim even if the malpractice is clear. Also, if Florida, in order to prove medical malpractice against the emergency room doctor, you have to prove that they acted in reckless disregard--a standard of proof which is nearly impossible to prove.
   
   
9. Doctors are not leaving the practice. According to the AMA, the total number of physicians in the United States rose to a record high in 2007--941,304 doctors.
   
   
10. Researchers from the National Bureau of Economic Research concluded that the verdicts and settlements in medical malpractice lawsuits do not seem to be the driving force behind increases in malpractice premiums.

Americans have been led to believe that there are hundreds of thousands medical malpractice negligence lawsuits every year and most of them are frivolous. That is false! If any health care reform is needed, Congress must come out with a final bill that decreases the number of medical errors, not bargain away the legal rights of injured patients.

I have a lot of friends that are great doctors! The few bad ones give them a bad name. Punish the bad doctors or get rid of them so the good doctors can take care of us. Don't punish the patient and their family if one of these bad doctors commits malpractice that forever changes their lives.

Lastly, get the Federal government out of the State's business. The States can do the job of tort reform if it is needed--they already have in all but two states.

OK, I'm stepping off my soap box now. But, you should get on yours. To contact your Representative and Senators about ensuring that tort reform stays out of the health care bill, click here and put your zip code on the "My Elected Official" box.