Cynthia Meyer, Staff Writer
Ideology: Conservative | Writing from: Washington, DC

In August, Howard Dean exposed the shockingly honest truthabout why tort reform has not been included in any of the Democrats’ health care bills this year. “When you go to pass a really enormous bill like that,” he said, “the more stuff you put in it, the more enemies you make. And the reason that 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 everyone else they were taking on.”

Just as they did in 2004 after Dean first revealed his recurring streak of insanity, the Democrats hit their heads in humiliation over his remarks. They are trying to hide the fact that they are playing politics, and succumbing to the same lobbyists and interest groups that Obama promised he would remove from political discourse.

The simple reality is that there is no valid reason why tort reform is not included in any of the recent legislation—Oh, except that malpractice trial lawyers would no longer sprinkle the Democrats’ eager hands with lush campaign donations.

The broken promises of Obama’s presidency are growing stale. He promised transparency? We are constantly getting closed doors. He promised to cut the deficit in half? The massive spending bills in Congress say otherwise. He promised bipartisanship? Republicans have had no voice in the health care debate. Their sensible amendments are rejected, such as amendments ensuring that abortions or illegal immigrants would not be covered. They are accused of having “no solutions” to the health care crisis, when Republican solutions are what will actually fix the health care industry.

Saying that Republicans have no solutions to the health care crisis is a flat out lie, and an attempt at distraction. The Democrats want the American people to think that there are no other solutions but their plan. They are trying to portray health care as so unfixable, beyond the power of the free market, that the only answer is the hand of government. They want us to believe that government will make it better, that we need the beaurocracy, that we are dependent on the politicians we elect for our basic health needs. They treat us as if we areincapable of doing this on our own, and they lie, telling us a government overhaul will actually help competition prosper (…Do they actually think we are going to buy that?).

When Republicans offer ideas like providing incentives to physicians to expand care and lower costs, allowing state insurance companies to compete with each other, offering tax credits to families with modest incomes, or enacting tort reform, the Democrats dismiss them. They are not even discussed, because discussing the legitimacy of these ideas would discredit their own.

Realistically, with the Democrats’ plans for such drastic changes in the health care system, the numerous forms of legislation in Congress right now will never become law. If we are going to make any progress in fixing health care, it will not be in a sweeping government overhaul.

If President Obama wanted to take credit for real progress in health care, he would first initiate a bill that would focus on tort reform. This would not fix the entire system, of course, but billions of dollars of waste would be cut out of the system ($54 billion would be saved, according to the CBO – compare that with the $2.4 trillion Obamacare would cost, according to the Lewin Group) and it would pave the way for additional cost-cutting solutions without forcing government beaurocracy into our hospitals and doctors’ offices.

The average medical malpractice claim takes five years to resolve, and the majority of dollars spent (60 cents out of every dollar) goes to trial lawyers and administrative costs. The costs from frivolous lawsuits faced by doctors are passed down to consumers and employees, and if tort reform were pursued, prices would drop. This is just one way medical coverage could be expanded without government force.

HOW TEXAS CAN SERVE AS A MODEL FOR TORT REFORM IN THE U.S.

Because of the thriving economy and friendly business environment, Texas welcomes 1,000 new residents every day. In 2008, 70 percent of all jobs created in the United States were created in Texas. It is the home of more Fortune 500 companies than any other state, with the healthiest housing market and a rainy-day fund of $9 billion—all with no income tax. Needless to say, Texas is showing far less signs of being in a recession than the rest of the country.

Much of the success Texas has been seeing in the past decade is due to tort reform. Before it was enacted, doctors were struggling with increasing costs and lower compensation from insurance companies, along with malpractice suits demanding time and money from their practice. Consequently, many doctors were retiring or leaving Texas, taking away jobs and quality health care from the state. This was recognized as a state emergency, and extensive tort reform was put in place. It put a cap on non-economic damages, such as “pain and suffering” claims, of $250,000. It also required that an independent medical expert file a report in support of the claim. Prior to this reform, the average suit award was $1.21 million. Now it is $880,000. Cutting this unnecessary waste in the courts has proved to be a success in the Texas economy and health care system.

Medical liability reforms allow doctors to cut costs and increase quality care by saving money from fewer frivolous lawsuits. Since tort reform, so many doctors have moved to Texas that they have had trouble keeping up with license requests. Insurance companies have also relocated to Texas, providing for increased competition in the industry, which has done a great deal to lower costs and broaden coverage.

The benefits of tort reform are shared by all—doctors, their employees, and their patients. The only players who are hurt in this are trial lawyers. Are we going to let trial lawyers of frivolous lawsuits prevent us from enacting real solutions to health care? More importantly, are we going to let the Democrats in power continue to prevent the country from embracing tort reform because of typical Washington politics?

Democrats: Cutting the cost of health care while maintaining competition and quality is more important than campaign contributions from trial lawyers.