Prostituting Justice

They are arguing the inarguable. The Regressives in Washington are arguing an issue that should have been settled during the Truman Administration.

Had we instituted a national healthcare system based on a single-payer, we would now be without a national debt. This would be true even if all the wasteful spending on the military and in other areas remained unchanged. This would be true even if the leeches on Wall Street and the prostitutes in Congress had behaved exactly as they have. How does that grab you?

While all of this unnecessary arguing has been going on, the healthcare leeches have been sneaking around putting another of their favorite ripoffs on the agenda. They have reportedly garnered the support of President Obama for banning malpractice suits. This is intended to become a part of any “reform” package.

There is no questioning Obama’s intelligence or political skills. This, however, could be a matter of his plate being too full for him to be able to adequately juggle everything being tossed into the pot.

Most people reading this have likely already formed an opinion on the issue of malpractice that differs from mine. Stay with me on this. The marketing of this nonsense has been so successful that most people are in a position of being against rationality, legal tradition, and their own self-interest, their own rights.

The American Medical Association would have you believe that all malpractice suits are frivolous. Absolutely Wrong. They would have you believe that malpractice suits are driving up the costs of health care. Wrong again. You need to take a look at malpractice suits and malpractice insurance.

Malpractice insurance rates are not tied to malpractice claims. Since the year 2000, malpractice claims have gone down substantially. Malpractice insurance premiums have risen substantially. Why? The insurance companies put the premiums into Wall Street. Part of their problem was the bursting of the dotcom bubble. Actually, since 2000, these insurance companies have done significantly worst than just about all other major investors.

These malpractice insurance companies, just as the health insurance companies, are going to continue making those obscene profits. In this instance the physicians get screwed. As the premiums increase, the physicians try even harder to protect themselves. They order more unnecessary tests; tests that end up costing everyone more. The physicians are riding a dead horse. Whatever they do will have little or no effect on the premiums they pay.

All of that was just about money. Let’s get to the real obscenity.

Prescription drugs are the 4th leading cause of death. Physicians receive almost all of their pharmaceutical training from the drug pushers. They are encouraged to use drugs in what is called “off label.” This means using these potions and nostrums for problems not authorized by an already too industry-friendly FDA.

They are also encouraged to prescribe these drugs for children when they have never been tested on children. Children are not medically just little adults. There are numerous physical, chemical and physiological differences between children and adults. Additionally, their systems are weaker and less resilient.

There is a particular problem with the area of mental health. Eighty percent of all prescriptions for psychopharmaceuticals are written by physicians in specialties other than psychiatry. Psychiatrists are incorrectly trained on the subject of mental illness. But, the other specialties are completely untrained. Eighty percent of prescriptions are written by people who rely entirely on the lies of drug salespeople. They do this out of either hubris, a desire for greater income or both.

That is just a small sample of the problems with drugs. That does not speak to the multitude of other types of problems that may be classified as malpractice. Remember, 50% of all physicians finished in the bottom half of their class.

As I write this, the television is on. President Obama is smoozing a meeting of the AMA, that group of totally unbiased people who have fought every attempt to bring healthcare to all Americans. But, back to the topic at hand.

You have probably never heard any “authority” speak simply of a malpractice suit. It seems to always be a “frivolous malpractice suit.” Can they all be frivolous? That’s unlikely. The well is being poisoned. The discourse is being intentionally slanted.

What if you have reason for seeking redress for a problem caused by a physician, a hospital, a drug company, the denial of coverage by an insurance company, et al. Do you want to be denied your chance for redress? I thought not.

We have had the right to ask the courts for relief for several hundred years. Civilization has not crumbled. If you are charged with a serious felony, you put your hopes in 12 of your fellow citizens. They are your most important barrier to unbridled government power. Do you really want to discard the judgment of your fellows if you or a loved one has been sentenced to death or disability by the ineptitude of one you pay to heal you or yours?

Are you willing to cast aside all of the legal protections you have that were developed over several centuries? Are you prepared to deny yourself any chance of redress of your grievances because one group of elitists wants a free ride? Once the medical industry gets exemption from accountability, who’s next? Will Walmart want to be exempt if one of their big screen televisions falls off the shelf and breaks your big toe? Where will it stop?

Some physicians only see their premiums rise and accept the explanation of the insurance company. Few really understand the dynamics, logistics and operations of the corporation sending them that bill. They are not the ones best placed to tell you why you should give up your rights.

Tagged as: ama, doctor, drug, Health, healthcare, hospital, insurance, malpractice, physician, reform