Obama: No Public Option!
September 2, 2009
This afternoon the White House announced that Obama was giving up on the public option. After ‘hearing’ from his fellow Americans, who oppose his public option plan, Obama has decided to focus on insurance reforms. He is putting the final touches on his new plan as we speak. One thing we are sure NOT to see? Tort reform. It would save between $100MM and $200MM a year in health care costs, but the trial lawyers own the Democratic party. They won’t even allow it to be debated on the floor of the House. Anyway, I hope Obama and his team keep listening to the American people. If you are with the administration and you are reading this blog, take a look at my ideas for reform.
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Another thing we will not see is health insurance as interstate trade. I just hope the Republican are smart enough not to buy into this. I am not holding out a lot of hope.
Comment by Ralph Muse — September 2, 2009 @ 2:11 pm
Does tort reform really change much from the consumer’s point of view? Health insurance premiums haven’t reflected the drastic drop in malpractice insurance rates that doctors are supposedly seeing.
Comment by Eugene — September 2, 2009 @ 3:52 pm
(I’m referring to the tort reform that’s happened in TX, btw)
Comment by Eugene — September 2, 2009 @ 3:53 pm
Eugene – what tort reform? Source?
Comment by Alexander Muse — September 2, 2009 @ 8:24 pm
Alexander -
http://docisinblog.com/index.php/2009/07/27/texas-tort-reform/
which links to
http://www.rwjf.org/pr/product.jsp?id=36768
By the way, my great-uncle is a family practice physician who strongly favors tort reform, and I lean that way myself. It’s just odd that we aren’t seeing much trickle-down effect in health insurance premiums.
From http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande?currentPage=2:
“That explanation puzzled me. Several years ago, Texas passed a tough malpractice law that capped pain-and-suffering awards at two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Didn’t lawsuits go down?
“Practically to zero,” the cardiologist admitted.
“Come on,” the general surgeon finally said. “We all know these arguments are bullshit. There is overutilization here, pure and simple.” Doctors, he said, were racking up charges with extra tests, services, and procedures.
Comment by Eugene — September 3, 2009 @ 9:43 am
@Alex Texas passed tort reform around 2003 or 04
http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2008/05/19/doctors-flock-to-texas-after-tort-reform/
Comment by brian — September 3, 2009 @ 9:51 am