The Republican congressional leadership today added a demand, in order for them to vote for increasing the U.S. debt ceiling, that medical malpractice actions be limited. If the President and the Democrats in Congress do not agree to limit medical malpractice actions, they will cause the United States of America to default on its debt obligations. It should be unbelievable that our Congressional representatives, elected to serve ALL U.S. citizens, should seek to steal their constituents’, as well as all other citizen’s constitutional and statutorily protected rights of due process and equal justice in order to accomplish the political ends and desires of their special interests. It should be unbelievable that the Republican legislators should ignore evidence, the greater good, and refuse to look to reasonable legislative measures to help address real problems. It should be that our legislators should seek to right wrongs, and not destroy rights.
Sadly, but not surprisingly, the Republicans’ ultimatum is neither surprising nor unbelievable. It’s become all too familiar to all of us. The Republican party once again sees nothing wrong with taking hostages, using innocent victims to achieve goals only their own special interests share…goals that are not supported by facts, logic that is supported by misinformation. Study after study after study show beyond any serious question that the costs of medical malpractice claims and litigation has little, if any demonstrable effect on the costs of medical care, insurance or the availability of medical services. Certainly medical malpractice issues bear NO relationship to our economy or governmental budgetary obligations! If the Republicans really want to help, then why don’t they tackle the REAL problems of healthcare and costs of healthcare? When will they take on insurance reforms and forcing fair claims practices? When will they work to improve the quality of the medical and hospital care we get in the United States, instead of further beating down those families who have already been burdened by the suffering and expense of having been injured by poor medical care? The Republican-sponsored medical malpractice “crisis” is a fictitious bomb scare that borders on terrorism. A better fiction, a fiction that would actually help our people, came from that legendary figure, King Arthur, whose credo was “Might FOR right….Not Might IS right!”
