Quote from pclark:
Not the hospitals and Dr.s my friend. Try the insurance companies.
Sorry, but you've got to go one step further back in the food chain.
It's the trial lawyers.
Frivolous lawsuits (which the plaintiffs' lawyers never expect to reach court anyway) raises the costs for everyone. All the lawsuits (and defending them, or more often settling them) raises the costs for the insurance companies, which pass those costs on to the doctors, hospitals and ultimately the consumers.
Do you have any friends who are doctors? Ask them about all the unnecessary tests and procedures which are performed because of fear of being sued for malpractice. I have a good friend who is a radiologist, and he says at least half of the scans he reads have no real basis for being done, other than the doctors who request them do so in order to cover their ass should they ever be sued for "missing" something.
So add up all the unnecessary tests done to protect the doctors/hospitals against frivolous lawsuits, together with all the expenses of processing and settling such lawsuits, and you easily have at least a 30+% legal "tax" on our whole medical system.
And guess which constituency is the largest % of members of congress (and our new president)? Yes, lawyers.
And guess which group is the largest financial supporter of the Democratic party, which now controls both the legislative and executive branches of government? Yep, you got it.....the trial lawyers.
Think anything is going to change to lower the legal costs hidden in health care? Hell no. They won't kill the goose who lays the golden eggs.
