Obama Open to Reining in Medical Suits

[groovedaddy]

WASHINGTON — The American Medical Association has long battled Democrats who oppose protecting doctors from malpractice lawsuits. But during a private meeting at the White House last month, association officials said, they found one Democrat willing to entertain the idea: President Obama.

In closed-door talks, Mr. Obama has been making the case that reducing malpractice lawsuits — a goal of many doctors and Republicans — can help drive down health care costs, and should be considered as part of any health care overhaul, according to lawmakers of both parties, as well as A.M.A. officials.

It is a position that could hurt Mr. Obama with the left wing of his party and with trial lawyers who are major donors to Democratic campaigns. But one Democrat close to the president said Mr. Obama, who wants health legislation to have broad support, views addressing medical liability issues as a “credibility builder” — in effect, a bargaining chip that might keep doctors and, more important, Republicans, at the negotiating table.

On Monday, Mr. Obama will go to the annual medical association meeting to face a group that has come out against a central component of his broader health care proposal — his call for a new public insurance program that would compete with the private plans. The White House says he will make the case that “reform is the single most important thing we can do for America’s long-term fiscal health,” and how important it is to have the cooperation of doctors.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/15/health/policy/15health.html?th&emc=th

[BobRossi]

1. Change?

I guess a move to the right is change.

[ellacott]

2. This is something that has to be addressed

It's not popular but you have to look at it. Many doctors have gone out of business because they can't afford the malpractice insurance. If we address the issue of the high costs of malpractice insurance we have to look at malpractice suits.

[Warpy]

3. With universal healthcare, there would be no need

for such huge awards because a lifetime of medical services after an injury due to medical malpractice would not have to be factored in.

Everything hinges upon affordable, universal health insurance. Until we get that, reining in awards for medical malpractice is unconscionable.

(FWIW, most huge awards are reduced on appeal. The process is what is so costly, not the awards themselves)

[ellacott]

4. It wouldn't elimate malpractice insurance

People aren't suing just for the loss of healthcare but also the loss of income and lifestyle due to malpractice by a physician.

There should still be malpractice cases because there still will be cases of negligence.

They still have malpractice cases in Europe.

This is an article that discusses how they handle these cases in Europe:

http://medicaleconomics.modernmedicine.com/memag/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=111474&searchString=Malpractice:%2520Do%2520other%2520countries%2520hold%2520the%2520key%3F

[groovedaddy]

5. There should be some way to speed the process up, eliminate the frivilous stuff quickly

but I would absolutely oppose any sort of "cap" on awards.
The Ford Motor Company calculated the cost of litigating v. the cost of fixing the Ford Pinto (fire bomb on wheels) and concluded that litigation was cheaper!
Could something similar happen with medical malpractice suits? Insurance companies could easily calculate such under a capped system. Hopefully, physicians care more than Insurance companies, but it's the insurance companies driving this. They, after all, charge the high premiums for malpratice insurance.
The numbers tend to indicate that this isn't the problem the insurance premiums would incline us to believe it is.

[ellacott]

6. So very true

I'm listening to the President's speech and he says that he's not advocating for a cap but wants to work in areas of quality assurance to avoid some of these suits.

I agree with this. One common lawsuit is doctors operating on the wrong body part. To address this issue my hospital has developed a series of protocols to identify and confirm the body to be operated on.

[groovedaddy]

7. I guy I once worked with went into the hospital for a tonsilectomy. The wheeled him for prep

and started shaving his pubic hair. He asked them what they were doing and they said "prepping you for your surgery." "You're doing that for a tonsilectomy?" A nurse quickly picked up the chart and left the room (had the wrong chart!).
Many jokes ensued after he told us this story.

[ellacott]

9. It happens more frequently than people realize

[trotsky]

8. Yeah, the problem isn't with huge malpractice payouts.

It's with the insurance industry's losses in the market that they need to make up for, so they jack up the premiums.

[ellacott]

10. There are people who like to file frivolous lawsuits

They don't realize that there is a database that lists malpractice suits filed against doctors. The insurance companies monitor this database if if a doctor is listed their rates automatically go up. It doesn't even matter if the case was thrown out or if the doctor won in court.

[Why Syzygy]

11. It's being reported that Obama did not do this ..

he made no offers.