Fix malpractice law, fix health care

The House of Representatives, the same House that gave us the onerous Cap and Trade Carbon Emissions bill, has now passed a health care reform bill that will only add insult to injury to U.S. taxpayers.

The main funding of this bill is to come from surtaxes on the wealthiest individuals who are already paying more than 40 percent of all income taxes. Add the yet undetermined tax of Cap and Trade and, in some instances state income tax increases... are you listening taxpayers of Illinois, the top marginal rate could exceed 55 percent for the "wealthiest" among us.

Among those "wealthiest" are the small business owners that are responsible for 70 percent of all jobs created in the U.S. and who pay their taxes as regular, individual or joint filers. No fancy corporate lawyers or tax departments help these job creators figure out how to avoid paying taxes.

Congress and the Obama administration have gone after private insurance companies, hospital groups, doctors' organizations and big pharmaceutical companies to wring out savings to help pay for covering the 48 million uninsured in this country, plus cutting Medicaid and Medicare programs. One curious group left out of all cost cutting and tax increasing is lawyers.

There is no argument that throughout our medical community all health care currently undertaken is done defensively to mitigate the chances of being sued for malpractice. Redundant tests, office visits and medical procedures are all done not to assure patients receive the best care possible but to assure no one associated with that care ends up in court.

We have bankruptcy judges that handle the smallest cases to multimillion, if not billion dollar cases without jury trials. Those judges are appointed based on their expertise in finance and the business world. If a person or business can be absolved of their debts by one judge why can't a single judge make similar judgments on the viability of a person's claim against the medical industry?

Can anyone argue that absolving a person's debt is any less critical than judging whether a medical suit is warranted or simply a way to assure a hefty contingency fee for the tort bar?

If every facet of medical care is under the microscope and is being targeted for cost savings and/or tax increases it's only fair that the biggest obstacle to true health care reform, the tort bar, come under the same microscope.

Steve Sarich

Grayslake