Thursday, February 11, 2010

Democrats’ Tort “Reform:” More Lawsuits

Wanted to pass along this piece from today’s Wall Street Journal, which analyzes how the various provisions in the health care bill could lead to a flood of new litigation as trial lawyers and various other interest groups attempt to argue over their meaning.  While many Republicans’ version of tort reform would reduce federal deficits by over $50 billion and lower health costs, these types of new lawsuits would raise health care costs, and increase costs for businesses struggling to hire during the economic downturn.  Of course, it’s also worth noting that the same Democrats who oppose tort reform for businesses were quick to insert language exempting federal bureaucrats from similar scrutiny; for instance, Section 3403 (page 1013 of the Senate-passed bill) exempts from judicial review any actions taken to implement the recommendations of the Independent Payment Advisory Board (aka the “Medicare Commission”) – so that any patients who have their access to treatments denied by a federal bureaucrat will be unable to seek legal recourse.