FRIST'S ANTI-PATIENT HEALTH CARE SCEME
By Patty Skolnik
Get ready for another dose of corporate-friendly legislation from the good hands people in Washington, D.C.
Oval Office contender, Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), will unveil an anti-consumer bill in early May. The measure is designed to cap civil damage awards against bad doctors, HMO's and the Insurance Industry. Frist's well-connected corporate allies want a national limit on damages. They want to limit awards to $250,000 on such trivial matters as "pain and suffering."
If Frist and his Insurance Industry friends win, it means a husband could not obtain justice from the people who killed his spouse. Instead, a government approved protection plan guarantees wrongdoers feel no pain.
It's no accident that Frist, whose family owns the Hospital Corporation of America, one of the largest and most profitable hospital chains in the county, announced the measure during "Health Week" in D.C.
Good health in Washington usually fattens the pockets of politically connected corporations. Frist's plan will only benefit insurance companies, which reaped $44.8-billion in profits last year.
What's next? A government-backed law that lets Exxon charge $3.50 a gallon, yet protects the oil giant from environmental lawsuits?
I know more about medical malpractice than most people. I learned it the hard way after a hospital error ended my son's life and changed mine forever. My only son Michael underwent an unnecessary brain operation in 2001. A doctor misdiagnosed his ailment and recommended surgery. Thus began a thirty-two month nightmare that saw Michael suffer bleeds to the brain, infections, pulmonary embolisms, paralysis and death.
Michael is hardly the only patient to die from a hospital mistake. Nearly 195,000 people are killed annually in America due to potentially preventable, in-hospital medical errors, according to a study of 37 million patient records by the Lakewood-based research group HealthGrades.
No wonder Frist's Insurance Industry friends want to prevent damaged patients and families from seeking justice in a court of law.
I work to protect and strengthen the civil justice system. I want the wrongdoers to face up to their responsibilities.
Frist, however, believes civil justice defenders like me are insignificant bit players in some kind of lawsuit lottery. Trust me, I have not won anything. I lost a son and now fight to prevent similar tragedies from shattering other lives.
Frist's Health Week scheme is nothing more than the latest in a series of corporate-backed attacks on the civil justice system and the people who want to protect it. The corporate and political liars behind this distortion campaign want you to believe that caps help our health care system.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Insurance premiums in states with damage caps are 12 percent higher than those states without caps. OB/GYNs in states with caps pay higher malpractice insurance premiums than their counterparts in states without caps. Surgeons in states with caps pay nearly 20 percent more for malpractice insurance premiums than the surgeons in states without caps.
Insurance companies have paid only 160 medical malpractice claims per year in Colorado since 2001. The majority of these were worth less than $125,000. Meantime, the Insurance Industry has pocketed more than $80 million while doing business in Colorado over the last five years.
The system Frist embraces is unfair to everyone, except insurance giants that have the money and clout to gain government-backed protection.
Colorado passed tort reform measures 20 years ago. We were told the caps would lower insurance rates and improve the health care business. Yet today, in Colorado and across the nation, medical malpractice rates continue to escalate. So do Insurance Industry profits and the number of people accidentally killed by medical mistakes.
Patty Skolnik is the founder of Colorado Citizens for Accountability, a grassroots, non-profit dedicated to protecting civil justice and holding powerful interest groups accountable from misdeeds.
You can learn more about her organization at Link.

Here's a fun drinking game that's sure to make Tuesday night's State of the Union Address go down easily.

Chug a beer whenever the Prez "embellishes" on the truth.

Expect a tsunami of suds if President Bush takes on civil justice evildoers. Civil justice attorneys, jackpot jury awards and frivolous lawsuits are The CEO in Chief's favorite whipping boys.

Whether speaking before a joint session of Congress, or a gaggle of friendly physicians in the American Heartland, President Bush rarely misses the chance to go "James Frey" on those seeking fairness in civil courts.

To paraphrase Mark Twain, one should never let the facts get in the way of a good story. That's just what Bush and his Tort Reform corporate pals have done for decades.

As Ronald Reagan once said, facts are funny things. The facts don't support Bush's distorted dissertation on a system of justice created to hold wrongdoers -- be they individuals or corporations -- accountable for harming regular folks.

Here's some more truth the Prez won't touch: More than 100,000 people are killed each year through medical negligence. Yet only about 500 medical malpractice cases get filed each year.

These cases are tragedies for surviving family members, yet Bush calls them "frivolous." He says civil justice lawsuits hurt the economy and force doctors to quit their professions.

But why quibble over people left brain damaged, mangled or dead though medical mistakes? The President knows people prefer fantasies to facts, especially when a civil justice attorney is the fall guy.

So enjoy the show tonight. And if you play that beer-chugging party game, drink responsibly and please don't drive.

Click here to learn more facts about the fragile state of civil justice in America.

TO ALL THAT CARE ABOUT OUR CIVIL JUSTICE SYSTEM
HELP US HELP YOU
COME AND SHOW YOUR SUPPORT!!




For Immediate Release:

Press Conference:

Where: Starz Film Center, 900 Aurraria Pkwy., Denver 80217

When: January 13, 2005, 3:00

Contacts: Patty Skolnik, 720-489-0336
Barry Bortnick, 303-995-7269
Wayne Ewing, 970-963-8700

Link


Denver- A new public watchdog group. Colorado Citizens for Accountability, will unveil an aggressive public awareness campaign, January 13th during a press conference at the Starz Film Center.

The Colorado Citzens for Accountability grassroots organization will serve as a watchdog group for those who have suffered catastrophic losses from medical errors, been injured at the hands of careless drivers, or treated unfairly by insurance companies.

CCA foundeer, Patricia Skolnik, said volunteer advocates will become a public force for the voiceless.

"We're going to keep a close watch on the civil justice system, the Legislature, the media and the insurance industry," Skolnik said. "We will make sure that people who end up brain damaged, mangled or dead by medical errors are not forgotten."

Nationally, more than 100,000 people perish each year from hospital mistakes.

"For the victims of medical malpractice, that's like a jumbo jet crashing every day for a year, killing everyone on board," Skolnik said. "Our friends and family members are buried one at a time, without a word from the press or an apology from those responsible. Instead, all we hear are the sounds of weeping from the families left behind."

Each year, thousands of Colorado citizens are hurt or killed by unsafe pharmaceuticals and other products. Meanwhile, insurance companies unfairly raise rates, refuse to pay for care and charge more for less.

CCA volunteers will be at the state Legislature during the upcoming session to ensure lawmakers protect the rights of individuals and families within the civil justice system.

CCA volunters will also attend civil trials to help protect the rights of families and give support. In addition, CCA will monitor media reports about civil justice, and also keep tabs on the insurance industry.

"We're going to be very vocal in the coming years," Skolnik said. "I won't sit by in silence and watch a well-organized and well-funded assault on the civil justice system by companies with money and power."

Skolnik conceived of CCA last year after her son, Michael, died from a series of medical mistakes.

CCA's press event coincides with the Jan. 13th release of two new documentary films that expose the stunning truth behind the Tort Reform movement. The films, "Benched" and "The Last Campaign," produced and directed by acclaimed Aspen filmmaker, Wayne Ewing, explain how multi-national corporations spend millions to control the civil court system in America.