NYT: A Push in States To Curb Malpractice Costs

[Maven]

As state legislative sessions open across the country this week, Republican governors and lawmakers in many states are mounting major campaigns to control medical malpractice insurance premiums by limiting civil litigation.

In Georgia, Missouri, Washington and more than a dozen other states, Republican legislators have made malpractice premiums a priority this year, groups that track such legislation said. In Kentucky, Maryland and Mississippi, Republican governors have already waded into the fray.

The impending battles over malpractice costs have in some states been wrapped in the broader cloak of "tort reform," intended to restrict the civil liability of many types of businesses. They also come at a time when President Bush has pledged to push for federal restrictions on medical malpractice lawsuits. more...

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I have personal experience with this, and yes, in some states, doctors are actually refusing to perform certain services for fear of being sued. HOWEVER, these problems are largely solveable by instituting review boards to weed out frivolous claims. I'm more interested in the bolded text above--more of the same "piggybacking" strategy. They don't give a shit about doctors--this is about insurance companies' profits and, more insidiously, about using this latest "crisis" to limit the ability of anyone to sue any big corporation for anything.