Maryland Injury and Disability Law : Washington DC Metro Injury & Disability Lawyer & Attorney : Greenberg & Bederman : Accidents, Falls, Medical Malpractice : Maryland, DC, Virginia

On Wednesday night, President Obama gave a speech to a joint session of Congress in which he discussed the importance of overhauling our health care system. The timing of the speech couldn’t have been better, especially considering how contentious the debate has been over the previous month. August has been loaded with screaming at town hall meetings, protests where people are carrying guns, violent and frightening rhetoric and some pretty wild claims.

The President’s speech was a fairly concise one, at least in terms of outlining what he expected this plan to do and how much he expected it to cost. There are a few details that need to be hammered out, but the President made it clear that he is open to suggestions and negotiations.

As is the custom, the opposing party was given the opportunity to deliver a response to the President’s speech, and to deliver their side of things they chose Louisiana Congressman Charles Boustany, who offered a speech that was fairly measured in comparison to some of the protestors out there this summer, or even in comparison to some of his compatriots who were in the audience during Obama’s speech.

But what we found indicative of the Republican’s stance on health care reform was that the man they chose to deliver their rebuttal is a heart surgeon who has been sued for malpractice three times. After all, who better to articulate the Republican platform of “tort reform, tort reform and more tort reform” more than someone who would benefit greatly from it?

Dr. Boustany said during his response, “We’re grateful the president mentioned medical liability reform and we hope he’s serious,” adding: “we need to establish tough liability reform standards” and discourage “junk lawsuits.”

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The Reddest Herring in the Health Care Debate

It’s impossible to turn on the news without coming across the angry crowds at these town meetings. The national temper is certainly hot. And while we can certainly concede that there are some valid arguments to be made, we have noticed that quite a few of the arguments are based on deliberate half truths and misinformation, many of which seem to be pandering to the worst in us.

The most obvious of these would be the “death panels” argument, which essentially accuses the government of wanting to establish a policy of enforced euthanasia for the elderly and the terminally ill. There is also the rumor that health care reform will offer free medical care to illegal aliens, which is both untrue and a very convenient way to turn health care reform into a matter of race.

In comparison to these delusional rantings, some of the other arguments seem to be based on Planet Earth, but that doesn’t make them any more accurate. For instance, we are seeing more and more “Tort Reform Now!” placards showing up at these town hall meetings, and while we prefer those vastly to the signs that show President Obama with a Hitler mustache, we can say with great certainty that, as it pertains to health care, tort reform is as much of a red herring as death panels or free care to illegal aliens.

What the tort reform people are demanding is caps on medical malpractice damages, which has about as much to do with your health insurance as fire insurance has to do with drowning. Medical malpractice insurance companies have absolutely nothing to do with Aetna, Blue Cross/Blue Shield or United Healthcare. The premiums that malpractice insurers charge doctors have absolutely nothing to do with the amount that you are paying for your health care premiums, and everything to do with the malpractice insurers maintaining healthy profit margins.

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