United States Spends $2.3 Trillion Dollars Annually On Healthcare
Medical malpractice verdicts and settlements are “a drop in the bucket” in the scheme of healthcare cost containment. In the last few weeks, the bankruptcy of Chrysler and GM compromised the safety of the American public by providing legal loopholes in the bankruptcy plan that will shield Chrysler and GM from being held accountable for defective products that are ticking time bombs for families.
On June 15th, President Obama again vowed to remove the protection of the courts by telling an American Medical Association meeting in Chicago that his efforts to cut healthcare costs and increase coverage could not succeed without freeing doctors from the fear of lawsuits. The President stated that making U.S. healthcare more efficient will be harder if “doctors feel like they are constantly looking over their shoulder for fear of lawsuits.” While the medical community and the insurance community have consistently stated that malpractice awards and settlements are driving costs through the ceiling and making the system inefficient, Health Point, the largest malpractice insurer, has indicated that medical malpractice is “not a major driver of spending trends in recent years.” Studies indicate that medical malpractice reform would not have a huge impact on healthcare costs.
The American Association of Justice and the medical malpractice lawyers of Reiff and Bily in Philadelphia are greatly opposed to curbing medical malpractice lawsuits. Les Weisbrod, the President of The American Association of Justice stated “by taking away the rights of people to hold wrongdoers accountable, the quality of healthcare will suffer tremendously.”
Joanne Doroshow, the co-founder and Executive Director of Americans for Insurance Reform stated “the provisions for healthcare should never be compromised or accomplished by taking away the right to trial by jury for someone who is legitimately injured or reduce the accountability of any hospital or provider that endangers patients.” AIR is a coalition of public interest organizations from around the country that seeks stronger oversight of a property/casualty insurance practices and is a project of the Center For Justice and Democracy and a national consumer organization.
Reiff and Bily are experienced medical malpractice lawyers in Philadelphia who have successfully represented persons throughout Pennsylvania who are victims of medical malpractice or medical negligence. If you or a loved one has been injured as the result of medical malpractice, please contact one of our experienced medical malpractice lawyers at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.
