By Bob Parks ——Bio and Archives--September 21, 2009
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Since passing tort reform in 2004, Mississippi has seen the number of medical malpractice claims plummet by 91 percent from its peak. The state’s largest medical liability insurer dropped its premiums by 42 percent, and has offered an additional 20 percent rebate each year since tort reform went into effect. “You can’t pass real tort reform unless it’s led by the governor,” Mississippi Republican governor Haley Barbour said. “The other side is tough. They have enormous resources. And they fear the trial lawyers — that if you beat them on tort reform, they won’t have those resources anymore.”This health care initiative might have been palatable had tort reform been an integral part of the discussion, but we all know it’s not even up for discussion. In the end (despite the flowery rhetoric) it’s not about sob stories about how people were denied coverage, or lost relatives because of impersonal insurance companies. It’s about payback to lobbyists and hefty campaign contributors. Screw the rest of us.
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Bob Parks is a is a member/writer of the National Advisory Council of Project 21. Bob’s websites are Black & Right and youtube.com/BlackAndRight