There is no single problem causing higher medical costs so there is no single answer. But I do have an idea for one part of the problem. There has been a lot of discussion over the years about the costs of medical malpractice suites and most of the discussion revolves around limiting the awards given to plaintiffs, especially punitive damages. You want to talk about an idea that is deeply ingrained in the legal system? Anyone know what this quote is from?
"If he satisfy the elders to impose a fine of grain or money, he shall receive the fine that the action produces."
This is from The Code of Hammurabi, written almost four thousand years ago, it is one of the oldest set of written laws. Even this long ago there was the idea that if someone brought a legal action against another and won, then the penalty would go to that person. In most areas, this might work, but I think for punitive damages in a medical malpractice this causes more problems than it solves.
The result is the malpractice lottery. If someone doesn’t like the way a medical procedure turns out then suddenly they have a chance of winning more money than they ever thought possible. And hey, its all paid by the insurance company so who gets hurt? Well as most people know by now, the higher insurance costs are a big part of what is driving up everyone’s medical costs.
Now don’t get me wrong, I believe that if someone suffers from a doctors incompetence then they should be able to sue for damages, pain and suffering. Also, there should be some sort of penalty for the incompetent doctor. It seems to me that we as a society have an interest.
Suppose for a moment that instead of punitive damages that are paid to the plaintiff, the doctor winds up having to do community service instead. This will eliminate a lot of the incentive for lawsuits. The value of any penalty will go to society as a whole. Insurance companies shouldn’t be allowed to cover this so the costs don’t wind up being charged back to the public as expenses.
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Although there is value in keeping medical costs down some medical errors have resulted in frightful results for patients and legal expenses to rectify this can be extensive. There must be some recompense to repair at least some of the damages caused by medical malpractice. That society should share in the repair is reasonable but not at the expense of proper compensation to people who have suffered damage.
I agree with you, any damages, expenses should be covered 100%, along with pain and suffering. I'm just saying that punitive damages(which in past cases has been several times the damages, costs, loses, pain and suffering combined) should go to society as a whole in the form of community service. This would eliminate the incentive for fraudulant or frivolice lawsuites.