On Fri, 13 Aug 2004 05:28:36 GMT, Gunner
calmly ranted:
On Thu, 12 Aug 2004 18:17:29 GMT,
(Dave Mundt) wrote:
Perhaps the question should be "why ARE rates this high".
Amen! Not enough people question anything.
I suspect it is a number of factors working together, including
the fact that most insurance companies are FOR PROFIT (which by
definition means their focus is more on making money for their
investors than helping people through hard times), the increasing
and automatic use of insurance to pay for EVERYTHING (not just, as
other folks have pointed out, catastrophic costs), and the
overwhelming upwards spiral of health costs in the USA (caused
by, among other things, Health Care becoming a FOR PROFIT enterprise,
the failure of the AMA to weed out the bad doctors, the spiraling
costs of malpractice insurance because of the previous point, and
the amazing costs of developing new technology).
There are endless years adding costs of proving a drug to the
FDA who shrugs and hints "Who cares if more people die waiting
for no drug than would die if given a bad drug?"
The Health care and insurance industries could go back
to being pure non-profit organizations. That is REALLY not likely
to happen, because there are too many folks making too much money
off the industry now.
That'd be nice. Too bad the profiteers don't realize that their
money is blood money and made entirely off people's suffering.
We could limit malpractice awards and how or when a doctor
could be sued. That would go over like a log in the punchbowl,
though, both because of the huge number of lawyers who have a
really comfortable life because of the money that they make off
of malpractice suits, and, the anger that folks have over poor
care. It might work a bit better if there were some way of
actually weeding out the doctors that were incompetent. Right
now...we still have no way to do this, or to even find out
what a doctor's record IS.
Yes, limiting awards is a very good idea. And the AMA is like a
union which strangles all attacks on its citizens and scares the
court into complete and absolute submission to its whims. The
AMA is all-powerful and we know what power does to men.
However, until a majority of Americans decide they REALLY
want to do something about it, we may as well bite the bullet and
live with it, because the situation will not change.
It's the same with our congresscritters. We won't get change until
we replace all the corrupt *******s.
How about medical suits that are mandated that the person bringing a
suit found to be spurious pays all costs and some damages, and the
attorney pays 5x the costs and damages?
Let's not forget to ding the judge for damages for allowing the
stupid thing into his court. To fix the legal system, they must
be held accountable, too, not just the speaking weasels (attys).
But let's limit the damages to something real. They've gotten a
bit frivolous, too, before the judge remittiturs them in the
background which the media chooses not to follow.
http://www.legal-explanations.com/de...remittitur.htm
Added to tax free medical savings accounts and a rating system to be
posted in each doctors waiting room that's based on how many times he
has been sued for malpractice and how many times he has lost those
suits. Same with hospitals etc.
In restaurants in LA, they post rating notices at the front door
based on sanitation, and cleanliness.
But let's inspect medical facilities a bit more often, please.
(I've seen some "A"-signed restaurants I wouldn't eat in, much
preferring any old roadside fish taco stand in downtown Ensenada.)
And of course we do the same with lawyers based on suits filed, lost,
won etc.
For judges, count the frivolous suits allowed/damages paid (by him).
Its not a cure, but more than a band aid.
Every little bit helps.
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Gator: The other white meat!
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