Senator Orin Hatch
Where are the Democrats on health care reform? If it invovles reducing the wasteful cost associated with medical malpractice, they are nowhere to be seen. However, with the CBO releasing an analysis that states tort reform would reduce the federal deficit by $54 billion, their response and actions to the analysis will show their true intent.
From the website of Sen. Orrn Hatch
WASHINGTON – Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, today received a letter from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) in which they updated their analysis on the potential budgetary effects of tort reform proposals aimed at limiting the costs related to medical malpractice. CBO was responding to Hatch’s rigorous dialogue with them regarding tort reform during the health care reform debate throughout this year.
“I think this response from the CBO confirms that there is a growing problem regarding the costs of health care lawsuits,” Hatch said. “In years past, the CBO mainly focused on the cost doctors’ malpractice insurance premiums and did not adequately address the tendency of doctors to use ‘defensive medicine,’ which does little to promote patient health and serves only to help doctors avoid being sued.”
A strong proponent of tort reform, Sen. Hatch has long said that by making some simple changes to our tort system, including caps on noneconomic damages and other commonly-proposed measures, we could reduce the cost of health care services. The CBO found that by instituting prudent tort reform measures, federal spending would be reduced by $41 billion over ten years and the federal deficit would decline by $54 billion.
Senator Hatch also noted that “I think that this is an important step in the right direction and these numbers show that this problem deserves more than lip service from policy-makers. Unfortunately, up to now, that has been all the President and his Democratic allies in Congress have been willing to provide on these issues. I look forward to having a continued comprehensive dialogue on this critical issue with CBO.”
View the full letter:HatchMedMal.PDF
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How is it that TORT Reform cannot be a good thing? I wonder if it somehow offends those opposed to it simply because it means people cannot sue for ridiculous sums of money to make their lives that much better. It’s not a moral issue, but a fiscal issue wrapped-up in some kind of unspoken twisted sense of morality.
54 billion, yes, with a “b”, is a lot of money even now, although with this current Congress spending trillions of bucks it may seem like a small number. To me it’s a lot of sushi I could buy and consume. But I digress….
54 billion bucks. Saved. Not spent, but saved. Reducing our deficit. Well, reducing the deficit that I was not asked about nor consulted upon in the issue of it being added to and increased; I never got a memo asking me about any of the spending done thus far since Obama has come to power. And to those who would bring up Bush and his decision to spend billions in April of 2008 to bail-out the motor industry, I was vehemently opposed to that one as well. Again, Bush never asked me personally if he should do this. Obama and his Congress never asked me if they should spend so recklessly. Did they contact you and ask you? Curious.
Anyhoos, so the deficit could be reduced by 54 billion bucks. Who would suffer because of this? Do medical mistakes happen? Of course they do. Should there be some sort of monetary compensation? If applicable, yes. If I missed work because some doctor sewed me back together and had left his forceps in my belly, I would want that money I lost due to his mistake, obviously. But I’m not looking to sue him for millions so I can retire early. My conscience wouldn’t allow it and my God wouldn’t bless this.
TORT Reform, as described by the CBO, is a great idea. Maybe I am naive and ignorant, but…okay. 54 billion dollars saved makes my ignorance rather happy.
Something like tort reform, or insurance reform – that would get doctors to stop practicing defensive medicine would be a great step in the right direction. I think this is another common goal between liberals and conservatives, and the politics of the approach throws a monkey wrench into the process. This is an excellent example of why it is a terrible loss that Republicans as a group walked away from the legislative process on health care reform. Here is common ground that every reasonable person can see would make health care reform better, even if the details need to be hammered out. However, with no political cover from any Republicans from the right (no Republican will offer to vote for the bill to get this reform added), the Democrats cannot afford to loose even a single senator from the left and still be able to move past cloture. This leaves the legal lobby with the strongest voice at the table, and little hope for this excellent goal (decreasing defensive medicine) will be in the final bill.
There are a whole host of other issues like this that will not see daylight, because the Republicans took the path of obstruction. To add insult to injury, I think that when it becomes apparent that a health care reform bill will definitely pass, 5 or 10 senators will jump aboard the train (rather than being crushed by it) and the final bill will have the air of bipartisanship, when the best that Republicans had to offer was never considered.
Ironically, it seems the Michelle Malkins and other enforcers of the title “Republican” want it this way. Better to say inside the little box and not be labeled a “RINO” – than to actually engage in the legislative process and work toward improving legislation for the benefit of all Americans.
To me this is a very sad story, it amounts to “Hey I have a really GREAT idea, that could really help America, BUT, as a party we have already decided that neither I nor any one else on this side of the isle will actually stand behind my idea with a VOTE. Sill just saying, it would have been really good”.
SAD.
How can you say that Republicans walked away from the table when they continue to have measures “blocked” by the democrats? How can you say that tort reform is bipartisan? Whom amongst the democrats support tort reform (not saying there aren’t any, just tell me who)? The President mentioned “trying” tort reform in his address to congress, but what has he done to support it? What actions has he taken to show he is serious about it? Doesn’t actions speak louder than words?
If the Democrats really want a bipartisan bill, then why would David Axelrod say the White House will not support health insurance across state lines? Isn’t this obstruction on the parts of the democrats? http://politicalintegritynow.com/2009/09/white-house-we-do-not-support-health-insurance-competition-across-state-lines/
If the Democrats were so interested in bipartisan legislation, then why would Obama obstruct the process in this manner: http://politicalintegritynow.com/2009/09/obama-ignored-house-gop-solutions-group-on-health-care-reform-meeting-request/?preview=true&preview_id=840&preview_nonce=fcc05d824c
This is just a few instances, but you get the point.
Natalie knows Michelle Malkin and has had the privilege to speak with her on several occasions. She, along with the majority of other conservatives, do not want it the way you claim. We want health care reform to be put in the power of the peoples hand, with just a little nudge from the government like tort reform, competition across state lines. In other words, as little government involvement as possible, because we have faith in the American people in that if you give a minimal amount of help (like tort reform and open up interstate competition), we will take the bull by the horns and get it done. That’s all.
The true tragedy here is that democrats continue to claim that the republicans are the party of no, yet they continue to block any amendments that would keep the legislation process bipartisan. In addition, the have now resorted to misleading the American people by saying things like the majority of Americans support OUR health care reform, when in fact, the majority of Americans DO support HEALTH CARE REFORM, just not the one that is currently proposed. Their misleading tactics continue to grow, just like their recently made “patently false” claim that Bob Dole supports THEIR plan.
That’s sad!
Chet:
Many republican amendments have made it into the finance committee’s bill, but honestly only those that the Dems like. Here is why:
All of the Republicans (except Snowe) have already tipped their hand, over a month ago. They have said, it doesn’t matter if I get every last amendment that I want added, I will STILL NOT VOTE for the bill. This amounts to walking away from the table. This leaves Republicans as irrelevant. Why would the Democrats entertain any Republican amendment when the Republicans have already said that they will NOT stand behind their own ideas with a vote. Democrats are not blocking Republican amendments, they are ignoring them, except for Snowe. Why is Snowe still relevant, because her VOTE is still in play.
Republicans can’t have it both ways (if they want to be honest). If they want to be a part of the process, they have to put their vote into play. If not, if they are taking their vote off the table, they are out of the process.
When Republicans take their votes off the table, and reduce themselves to spectators, they cannot honestly wonder why no one is listening to them any more. It is not Democratic obstruction, the Republicans have chosen to cheer and boo from the sidelines.
“They have said, it doesn’t matter if I get every last amendment that I want added, I will STILL NOT VOTE for the bill.” Who has said that and show me the ariticle and quote? Not saying it isn’t so, but if it is…I would like to know. I would appreciate it if you would back up claims like this with facts. I concede that you do at times, but more often than not, you do not answer the questions and instead, ask your own.
just support your claims with facts PJ, is that so hard to do?
Chet:
If Michelle REALLY wants to move this reform to the right, toward a more market based system, she should be calling on Senator Hatch to step up, not just with his good idea (which it certainly is) but with his VOTE, and with a few of his collegue’s votes as well. Hatch could say, adding this reform as an amendment, and decreasing the ________________(whatever) would attract my vote and the vote of 6 other Republicans. That is how the legislative process works.
I believe Ms. Malkin is well aware of this fact. I believe the Republican leadership has taken the path of attempting to stop this reform by choosing NOT to participate in the legislative process and by offering amendments aimed as much at dividing the left as advancing the right. My crystal ball says this will all change very soon when the Republicans see that they can no longer hold out hope of stopping the train. I think at the last moment many Republicans will want to be on the “right side” of history, and will find a way to vote for the bill. Just think how much better the bill could have been if those Senators had actually engaged in the process from the beginning, leaving their votes in play.
we will just agree to disagree on this. Republicans (conservatives) do not believe that raising taxes, cutting medicare cost, and more government control is the right path and right side of history for this country. As such, I do not want my representatives to vote for this bill. As a former government employee, that worked in the VA health care system (a government run health care system), I can tell you from first hand, hands-on experience, that it is extremely corrupt, and the system is more concerned about number crunching than taking care of the patients. I was a management analyst and a superviosr and area manager for a national pilot project, so I know a little about what I am talking about. I also can tell you that peoples personal information is spread around like candy.
Did you know that only one aspect of over 10 standards that are measured by VA head quarters (determined by Washington) involves quality? Everything else is measured by PRODUCTION. On top of that, the quality measurement IS INTERNAL! Imagine that!!!
You want that out of a government health care system?
Sure, there are people who like it, but the complaints far outweigh the praise.
PJ, I don’t expect you to know this, as most people don’t. But doesn’t that concern you a little?
Ahh, PJ, you know we don’t play with the all talk and no substance rules here. If you have facts to support your claims, post them. If not, don’t post conjecture. What amendments, proposed by whom, on which date, and covering which issue? Republicans HAVE attempted to come to the table. Just as with your argument, Obama said, “my door is always opened” and then when they sent him letters requesting meetings to discuss and negotiate, he kindly disregarded them. What part of asking for a meeting and not being obliged is “walking away from the table?” Why is it that you’ve got an answer for everything but not many actual answers?
Republicans “reduce themselves to spectators” by proposing legislation that would set in stone what the Dems and president already CLAIM the bill will do, and then the Democrats kill the concrete legislation that supports what they’re supposedly putting in the bill anyway? Are you really paying attention or is this a big example of selective attention–Thank you to Professor Wilder for that (you wouldn’t understand.) You want the Republicans to be insignificant, so you say they offer nothing and therefore they’re insignificant.
What exactly is a compromise in your eyes? When one group of people keeps offering ideas and the other group (the one with ultimate power) keeps putting their fingers in their ears and pretending they didn’t hear it, that doesn’t mean the powerless group didn’t offer anything. Remember, 1+1=2, we can’t just pretend that 1+1=0 because it’s convenient for Democrats in this instance. Whether you or the Democrats like it or not, Republicans have offered ideas and alternatives. It’s not our fault that the Dems are hell-bent on ignoring other views.
And by the way, you’re not telling the whole story. Republicans have essentially said they will STILL NOT VOTE for a bill that contains a national health care option. They have not said that they will just still not vote for the bill regardless of its form. Use the whole truth, still make your argument either way, and people will respect you for it in the end. As O’Reilly says, this is a no-spin zone!
edited for clarity
One more thing PJ…if you have noticed, many of our new followers no longer respond to your post, as they probably see that a great majority lacks substance, although some have been good. You are simply beginning to be ignored.
For the record, I will no longer address your claims that are not supported by facts. Let the record be clear (heard that before?) “he said” and “she said” are not facts. Questions that you ask, that are not relevant to the topic of a respective article, will no longer be responded by me.
However, I will address your opinions and/and claims that are supported by fact(s), as we encourage that on both sides of debates. Knowledge is power, and to be truly informed, one must be aware of all asides of the argument.
But again, your unsupported claims and discussions that are not relevant to the topic of the respective argument will no longer be addressed by me. To simply put it, it is a waste of time. I have much better things to do that engage with your continued distorting the truth, while failing to address the actual issue.
BRAVO Chet…BRAVO!!!!!!!!!!