Bush & Cheney Mislead on Tort Reform

[Guest guest]

--- The Daily Mislead <latest

wrote:

> Tue, 6 Jul 2004 18:13:38 -0400 (EDT)

> The Daily Mislead <latest

 

> Bush & Cheney Mislead on Tort Reform

>

> ===============================

> THE DAILY MIS-LEAD

> <

> http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2973095 & l=43772

> >

> ===============================

>

> BUSH & CHENEY MISLEAD ON TORT REFORM

>

> President Bush and Vice President Cheney continue to

> dishonestly claim that

> trial lawyers are to blame for skyrocketing health

> care costs. President

> Bush said Friday that " frivolous lawsuits...run up

> the cost of medicine " and

> that solutions to health care problems were stopped

> in Congress " because the

> trial lawyers are powerful in the Senate. " [1]

> Similarly, Cheney said last

> week that " medical liability reform " is the key to

> " control the cost of

> health care. " [2] But, according to undisputed

> government and academic data,

> lawsuits have little -- if anything -- to do with

> health care costs.

>

> According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget

> Office (CBO), costs from

> malpractice lawsuits represent less than 2%[3] of

> the nation's total health

> care spending, and the tort reform legislation

> pushed by President Bush

> would reduce health insurance premiums by less than

> one-half of one

> percent.[4] While President Bush has claimed that

> lawsuits cause " docs to

> practice medicine in an expensive way[5] in order to

> protect themselves in

> the courthouse, " a study by the Harvard University

> School of Public Health

> " did not find a strong relationship between the

> threat of litigation and

> medical costs. " Additionally, a study in the Journal

> of Health Economics[6]

> compared medical costs in states with limits on

> lawsuits to states without

> limits and found only tiny savings - less than

> three-tenths of one percent.

> In all, CBO reported " no statistically significant

> difference in per capita

> health care spending between states with and without

> limits on malpractice

> torts. " [7]

>

> The White House's insistence on pushing the trial

> lawyer myths are designed

> to obscure its record in other areas that would

> seriously reduce health care

> costs. For instance, the Bush Administration's

> recently-passed Medicare bill

> specifically prohibited Medicare from negotiating

> lower prescription drug

> prices from large pharmaceutical companies.[8]

> Similarly, industry studies

> have found that widespread adoption of the

> President's Health Care Savings

> Accounts " could drive up the annual deductible paid

> by workers. " [9]

>

> Sources:

>

> 1. Remarks by President Bush on the Economy,

> PRNewswire.com, 7/02/04,

>

http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2973095 & l=43773.

> 2. " Cheney rallies the faithful at Wheeling bus tour

> stop, "

> Observer-Reporter, 7/04/2004,

>

http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2973095 & l=43774.

> 3. " Economic and Budget Issue Brief: Limiting Tort

> Liability for Medical

> Malpractice, " Congressional Budget Office, 1/08/04,

>

http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2973095 & l=43775.

> 4. " President Bush's Rhetoric on Medical Malpractice

> Doesn't Match Reality, "

> DPC.Senate.gov,

>

http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2973095 & l=43776.

> 5. Presidential Remarks, WhiteHouse.gov, 1/26/04,

>

http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2973095 & l=43777.

> 6. " President Uses Dubious Statistics on Costs of

> Malpractice Lawsuits, "

> FactCheck.org, 1/29/04,

>

http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2973095 & l=43778.

> 7. Ibid,

>

http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2973095 & l=43778.

> 8. " Bush Admits Drug Card Concerns, " Washington

> Post, 6/15/04,

>

http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2973095 & l=43779.

> 9. " Out of pocket costs may soar, " USA Today,

> 4/25/2004,

>

http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2973095 & l=43780.

>

> Visit www.misleader.org for more about Bush

> Administration distortion. »

>

>

===========================================================

>

> Subscribe to the Daily Mislead! Go to

> http://www.misleader.org and enter

> your e-mail address in the " Receive the Daily

> Mislead " box in the

> top-left corner of the page.

>