President Shills For Insurance Industry

[rodeodance]

many clickable articles with this link:

http://www.americanprogressaction.org/site/pp.asp?c=klLWJcP7H&b=284236

PATIENTS' RIGHTS

President Shills For Insurance Industry

President Bush traveled to Collinsville, IL, yesterday on behalf of the insurance industry to push his plan to restrict justice for injured plaintiffs. The president claimed "the prospect of big jury awards in medical malpractice cases was causing insurance rates to soar and doctors to abandon their practices." If you scrape away the overheated rhetoric and look at the reality, however, a very different picture emerges. His proposal would have no real effect on the cost of health care. The caps would "disproportionately affect" children and seniors who live on fixed incomes. According to the Congressional Budget Office, it also would "undermine incentives for safety" while at the same time making it "harder for some patients with legitimate but difficult claims to find legal representation."....



THE MYTH OF THE CAPPING EFFECT: Capping malpractice awards would have little to no effect on skyrocketing malpractice insurance costs. The CBO found malpractice costs account for less than 2% of health care spending. In fact, an analysis by the CBO shows capping medical malpractice would affect private health insurance premiums by a measly one half of one percent.

NO LINK BETWEEN PAYOUTS AND PREMIUMS: Today's high premiums are a result of insurance industry pricing practices which gouge doctors. Consider: While malpractice payouts actually went down by 8.2 percent between 2001 and 2002, there was no corresponding decrease in doctors' premiums; the insurance industry simply pocketed the difference. The Des Moines Register points out, "There's simply no correlation between lawsuits and insurance rates. Rather, insurance rates are tied to the climate of the stock and bond market, where insurance companies invest much of their money."......

SELLING INSURANCE: Common sense dictates that if the skyrocketing cost of malpractice insurance is fueling the high cost of health care, President Bush should address the issue of insurance reform. Why is he so reluctant? Just follow the money. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, since 2000, the insurance industry has donated almost $74 million to President Bush and his allies in Congress.

[ixion]

1. the entire insurance industry is one large scam

I would rather take the money and go to vegas.

just my two cents.