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1. 

   David said, 4 months ago

   This is EXACTLY what the so-called “healthcare reform” will not address. Malpractice insurance has skyrocketed for doctors because of excessive lawsuits and excessive payouts. That cost is passed down along with others.

   This is the central problem with our healthcare costs and yet the reform won’t address it. Instead they will simply shift the burden of costs to the taxpayers so their lawyer buddies will continue to be paid and they can continue to enjoy money from their lobbyists.

   Our government desires not to fix our current system but to throw it out and replace it with one that is controlled by them and benefits them directly. It is another ruse to make Americans even more dependent on them so when they overstep their bounds we are less empowered to strike back.

2. 

   oldlegodad said, 4 months ago

   “First kill all the lawyers” somebody famous said it.

3. 

   wbr said, 4 months ago

   shakespear

4. 

   Gladius said, 4 months ago

   ANandy,
   Ask yourself one simple question. How many Representatives and Senators are lawyers?

5. 

   fennec said, 4 months ago

   This is a simplification. There is no doubt that malpractice suits have gotten out of hand (as have so many other suits in our litigious society), but that is only part of the problem. Have none of you ever asked where the money for all those “ask you doctor if “xyz” is right for you” is coming from? And all those wonderful ads telling you that you need sleep aids, potency aids, restless legs aid etc. Big pharma is also responsible. And how about for profit (as opposed to nonprofit) insurance, hospitals etc. It isn’t all that simple.

6. 

   nomad2112 said, 4 months ago

   Sorry fennec, restless leg is not a myth - I wish it was.

7. 

   dtroutma said, 4 months ago

   I have a couple “conditions” they claimed didn’t exist. What bothers me is the “big pharma” ads for them are totally fraudulent. Even a med i take that actually works very, very, well, is totally mis-represented in the commercials. Yes, they DO invent “diseases” to sell fraudulent pharmaceuticals.

8. 

   GNWachs said, 4 months ago

   As a physician of course I pay malpractice insurance and pass those expenses on. But that is mere pennies compared to the cost to society for “defensive medicine”, the tests I order and the treatments I do so that I will not be sued.

   BTW, if the total health care expenditures in this country were $10, then $1 would be for prescription medications and $9 would be hospital bills, lab tests and doctors fees. I heard at a lecture that of the $10 expended $2 is for unnecessary defensive medicine.

   The American Trial Lawyers gave Obama $millions and he has taken tort reform off the table.

9. 

   lightartsteacher said, 4 months ago

   Of course, the Shakespeare quote was misused, but I agree. The first thing we need to do is kill all the lawyers.

10. 

    HUMPHRIES said, 4 months ago

    This is one of the oldest scare tatics around, same was even used in the 70’s. Real cost increase was because the insurance firms lost their heineys on he stock market.

11. 

    GNWachs said, 4 months ago

    Humphries: I will start with the assumption you just like to debate and so make up provocative statements to stir up the troops.

    Blue Cross and Kaiser are non profits. They spend whatever they take in. No stock market exposure.

    What will you next fabricate?

12. 

    petergrt said, 4 months ago

    0bama is onto something: with government controlling the health care, who will the shysters sue?

    But, something tells me that in the 1,000+ pages of bills there are ample protections for the parasites and the rest of 0bama’s Brownshirt.

13. 

    olfart said, 3 months ago

    Any discussion of health care costs begins with the word “insurance”. I can’t say what is the complete answer, but the insurance industry is the main problem.

14. 

    HUMPHRIES said, 3 months ago

    GNWachs, since you like to ass-u-me. I did a college term paper for an ecomics class in 78. One of my prime sources was a study done by the American Nursing Association. One neat ponint was that the annual mal-practice costs and suits remained essentially the same through the sixties into the seventies. Now go scare someone else.

15. 

    parkersinthehouse said, 3 months ago

    “kill all the lawyers”
    i’m the one who said it
    in 1977
    in divorce court
    i meant it and i stand by it
    amen
    ºO
    U

16. 

    GNWachs said, 3 months ago

    I apologize Humphries, I had no idea you actually did a whole term paper and found a source. You are the expert I will turn to in the future for any health care related questions that arise.

17. 

    HUMPHRIES said, 3 months ago

    GNWachs, you are un-funny. The paper only pointed out your scare tatic was used a looong time ago,

18. 

    Buzzy-One said, 3 months ago

    The more things change the more they remain the same.

19. 

    believecommonsense said, 3 months ago

    GNW, sheesh, you gotta stop with the fallacy that Blue Cross/Blue Shield are non-profit. I’ve posted the relevant info a half dozen times, so not going to do it again. BC/BS used to be non-profit, now it’s a federation of 39 independent health insurance cos., some non-profit and some for-profit, mostly for-profit.

    and by the by, the medical group portion of kaiser Permanente is also for-profit.

20. 

    Michigander said, 3 months ago

    When I was an aide in a hospital, a patient, who also happened to be a dear neighbor of mine, reprogrammed her own IV settings when I was the only one in the room with her. I asked her why she did it. Her excuse was I don’t think that they were giving me enough……and blah, blah, blah. I immediately went to her nurse and reported what she had done. If something would have happened to my neighbor, who do you think would have been blamed? Exactly.

21. 

    parkersinthehouse said, 3 months ago

    good question. years ago i had an ob/gyn who was an ex-marine doctor who wore clogs and told dirty jokes to the nurse in the exam room. can’t recall the name —- oh surely not.

22. 

    GNWachs said, 3 months ago

    Well to both big ear and Parker, to get into med school is easy. Work 18 hours a day, 7 days a week, 12 months a year for 8 years. Never own a car, a home, never take a drink or do any illegal drugs and give up your entire youth. Then once in repeat that for another 8 years while the wise guys who partied through out their teens and twenties diss the fact that you are successful and think it was all luck.

23. 

    Gladius said, 3 months ago

    GNW
    Maybe lightarts ought to be reading that too.