Senate Health Care Bill: Liability Reform That Serves Trial Lawyers
Monday, December 21, 2009From Overlawyered.com, a Capitol Hill source reports on the “tort ref.rm” language in the Senate manager’s amendment to the health care bill primarily serves opponents of tort reform:
The “tort reform” section of Senator Reid’s substitute amendment is not merely meaningless, but is actually a significant giveaway to the trial lawyers. It is essentially a 5-year, 50-million dollar grant program to encourage states to develop more plaintiff-friendly alternatives to the current medical liability system.
Previous versions of the bill contained mere “Sense of the Senate” language expressing support for state demonstration projects.
The provisions run from page 344 to 359: “SEC. 399V-4. STATE DEMONSTRATION PROGRAMS TO EVALUATE ALTERNATIVES TO CURRENT MEDICAL TORT LITIGATION.”
The senate bill has no real tort reform. It serves as the Trial Attorneys Re-employment Act. Physicians will have to continue to endure the abusive system and practice billions of dollars of defensive medicine, test that protect doctors and not patients. Is this what the public wants? See http://www.MDWhistleblower.blogspot.com under Legal Quality