Posted by BOE Member George Runner at 12:00 am on Dec 11, 2009 1 Comment
As the United States Senate takes on the health care issue,
there is a clear difference of opinion on whether this $850 billion
program will rein in rising health care costs or further bankrupt
our nation. In a piece written recently, Sacramento Bee
columnist Dan Walters noted a provision inserted into the
2,000-plus page health care bill that would wreak havoc on
California.
Walters wrote that 34 years ago California passed a law that
imposed a $250,000 limit on pain and suffering damages in medical
malpractice cases. Walters also noted that during the 1970s,
in response to the skyrocketing insurance premiums for malpractice
insurance, many doctors threatened to leave the state or abandon
specialized practices, particularly obstetrics.
However, California’s malpractice cap, which also was enacted in
30 other states, has been put on the chopping block by Speaker
Nancy Pelosi in the health care bill pushed through the
House. In the recently approved House health care bill, any
state that repeals the malpractice cap would receive "incentive
payments"–a modern day payoff.
As noted in by Walters, the Congressional Budget Office
(CBO)… Read More