Hey folks, for once, Bob Taft did something that doesn't blow up in our faces....Tort reform:Good news: The number of medical-malpractice lawsuits filed in Ohio has dropped for another year. A 2003 tort-reform law is the most obvious explanation.
The Ohio Department of Insurance last week reported 4,006 medical-malpractice claims in 2006, compared with 5,051 in 2005 -- a 20 percent decrease.
lawsuits in Ohio had led to wild unpredictability for insurers, which drove up malpractice-insurance rates, which in turn raised medical costs and limited health-care choices for Ohioans. Doctors often took early retirement or moved to states where insurance rates weren't so high.
Texas, in much the same situation as Ohio, passed a constitutional amendment in 2003 that similarly limited medical-malpractice awards. The New York Times reported in October that the amendment, combined with Texas' lack of a state income tax, has attracted thousands of new doctors.
Certainty and stability in the medical-insurance field are healthy moves for states and their residents.
Republicans in the General Assembly looked at this problem and took action based on what they had seen other states do. They responded to the problem with good common sense legislation. However, Dems cannot even give them one ounce of credit:
Mary Jo Hudson, the Democratic director of the department, ...[is] hesitant to attribute these effects to the law change. But that's no surprise, because her party and some of its most-generous campaign contributors, plaintiffs' attorneys, fought it ferociously.
Yep, Republicans stand up for those of us paying higher insurance and higher medical bills because of lawsuits; while the Dems are financed by the fat cat ambulance chasing attorneys....So who really is the party of the rich and corrupt?
