Looks like the poll is sitting at 17-3 right now, which although a little one-sided, probably reflects a more public view than not. I think most people realize some reform is necessary, and some controls and focus on why our costs (or the costs to your employers, for those who are "happy" with their current coverage) are going up so fast.
Wayne, I note your ongoing focus on tort reform, and see that you failed to comment in my thread on medical malpractice companies who are raking in profits. These profits of course coming off the backs of doctors, who are subsequently passing these costs on to the citizens. From my understanding, a majority of states have already enacted forms of tort reform, but I don't remember hearing or reading much reform on insurance companies... which leads me to posting this here again, on point, and to allow you to address if you like:
Medical Malpractice Insurers? Profits Higher Than Nearly All Fortune 500 Companies
By DAPHNE EVIATAR 10/6/09 11:57 AM
The American Association for Justice ? the trial lawyers? lobby group ? has just released an astounding statistic: medical malpractice insurance companies? average profits are higher than those of 99 percent of Fortune 500 companies.
As the nation remains mired in a debate over health care reform and how to keep down the costs of expanding coverage, AAJ is trying to point out that Republicans claims that medical malpractice lawsuits are one of the big cost drivers is completely misleading. In fact, though malpractice claims and so-called ?defensive medicine? does account for a small percentage of unnecessary costs, medical errors and the astronomical profits of malpractice insurers appear to be a bigger part of the problem.
AAJ?s report released today finds that the average profit of medical malpractice insurance companies is higher than 99 percent of all Fortune 500 companies and 35 times higher than the Fortune 500 average for the same time period; and malpractice insurers have seen their profit margins range from 5.9 percent to 74.8 percent, with an average of 31.2 percent. The report also finds that malpractice insurers have publicly overestimated their losses and underestimated their profits in an attempt to suggest the insurance business and medical practice in general faces a crisis that must be resolved by so-called ?tort reform? ? i.e., making it harder for patients to sue and to collect damages for their injuries.
?Insurance companies are gouging doctors on their premiums to mislead lawmakers,? said American Association for Justice President Anthony Tarricone, managing partner at Kreindler & Kreindler LLP, in a statement released with the report. ?And today, injured patients are often left with no avenue to pursue justice, while health care costs continue to skyrocket.?
