Howard Dean says Democrats didn’t debate TORT reform because they didn’t want to “take on” trial lawyers
Many Americans rightly wonder how you can have any attempt at real healthcare reform without TORT reform, that is where ANY healthcare bill should start yet it is lacking in the president’s bill.
Howard Dean was ased why the Democrats didn’t address TORT reform in the healthcare debate, this was his answer:
Here is why tort reform is not in the bill. When you go to pass a really enormous bill like that the more stuff you put in, the more enemies you make, right? And the reason why tort reform is not in the bill is because the people who wrote it did not want to take on the trial lawyers in addition to everybody else they were taking on, and that is the plain and simple truth. Now, that’s the truth
There you have it, the Democrats have already made enemies with the AMA, doctors, nurses, and drug companies so they are not willing to make enemies with yet another powerful lobbyist group. They are not willing to “take on” trial lawyers. So much for a total overhaul of the healthcare system.
Healthcare reform gave Democrats the perfect opportunity to end lawsuits that help to drive up the cost of healthcare but they chose to ignore this one aspect of the problem. The one aspect that should be the starting point of any healthcare reform.
America's Watchtower 
Most of the Congresscritters are lawyers – do you think their going to stab their brethren in the back by limiting the amounts of money they could collect from lawsuits? No way in someplace very warm!
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They must protect their own, I guess. Hopefully they will all need lawyers soon.
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Just who do you suppose wrote this frigging pile of shit of a bill???????
Frigging lawyers!!!!!
Hey Howard you imbecilic moronic nethanderal, WAKE UP!!!!!
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True, and don’t forget what one politician said. He isn’t going to read it because you need a team of lawyers to understand it.
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Why do trial attorney support Obamacare and the road to a single payer system? Can’t they see that when the government drives the private insurance companies from the field that there won’t be anyone left to sue??????? Maybe I’m missing something!
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That is a point that I hadn’t even thought of.
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I don’t know Ron, they may be able to go after doctors individually. Doctors are upset about this bill for many reasons, and I think the failure to include tort reform is one of those reasons. I think doctors and nurses would be hung out to dry on this plan.
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I’m wondering WHY the trial lawyers aren’t all over this? If you follow “public option” through to it’s eventual course (business owners eventually opt for money saving policies-government option), tort reform wouldn’t be needed. Once under the umbrella of the government, the lawsuit cap is $200,000. Doctors won’t even need malpractice insurance anymore, since the lawyers will only be able to collect 25% of $200,000 unless they can get an individual bill passed for more.
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I’ve been racking my brain on this subject. Why isn’t anyone,GOP or Dem, disscussing tort reform. I hear everyone use the term but what exactly does it mean. We can all understand the concept in 1-3 sentences. Sounds like a reasonable idea,right?
I’m in Southen Calif. where many people know that if you are insured by the HMO, Kaiser and aquire a chronic or terminal disease chances of a reasonably early ‘diagnosis’ and timely treatment are not very good.
I wanted to know why they did not seem more concerned about liability.
When I discovered that because they are ‘federally certified’, they are not required to use state guidelines for defensive medicine and malpractice problems.If Hmos are federally certified (silent tort reform) and this tort reform were included in healthcare bill as GOP in congress are are proposing, isn’t that increasing the feds and limiting the states? Why is this part of the conversation completely left out of mainstreem conversation? Consevs pandering to big tabbacco or asbestos? Libs not debating it. How can we trust anyone? All the rant against ‘big government’ on FOX. What about states rights, are they ignorrent or intensionally deceptive?
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