Obama's proposed government run (socialist) healthcare programs simply WILL NOT work, this HAS NOT worked in other countries, so why should the people of the United States believe it will work for them?
However, the following will make a major difference in the cost of health care. Please take note how Obama tends to skip over the subject of TORT REFORM when this is mentioned as one of the solutions to the cost of health care! Why? Because besides being our President he's also an attorney, that's why!
Health insurance costs started rising around 1976 when the legal profession here in the United States was allowed to start advertising. Attorneys will only file a CIVIL law suit against parties who have the ability to pay, or against those who have an insurance company that's most likely to settle out of court. Because of this the medical profession is a prime target for lawsuits, primarily because of the money to be gained by the legal profession from the medical facilities malpractice insurance company. After a law suit has been filed against a medical facility, the attorney for the plaintiff will seek an out of court settlement from the medical facilities malpractice insurance company. The malpractice insurance company has two options: (1) Settle out of court or: (2) Go to court and face the cost of a very expensive trial by jury. Why a trial by jury? As per the 7th Amendment of the US Constitution:
“In Suits at Common Law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried to a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the Common Law”.
Due to the 7th Amendment, either party to a CIVIL law suit can request a trial by jury, the other party to the law suit has NO LEGAL right to object to a trial by jury, this is where the Medical profession gets had! Here's a hypothetical example: The dollar amount stated in the law suit could be for any amount of money above twenty dollars, the cost of a trial by jury could be in the area of perhaps $250,000. The plaintiffs attorney would then offer to settle out of court for perhaps $100,000, an amount far less than the cost of a trial by jury, the insurance company would most likely take the offer without the case going to trial because the out of court settlement offer is the least expensive of the two. If the insurance company agrees to a trial by jury and they win the case they're still out $250,000 in legal expenses. This is why as much as 50% of the medical facilities gross income is paid out for malpractice insurance, because of these out of court settlements! This added cost is then passed on to the public in the form of higher medical insurance premiums. On the other hand, if the case were tried by a judge (no trial by jury) the case would either be thrown out or a REASONABLE judgment entered.
A way to avoid this legalized EXTORSION and reduce the cost of medical coverage is to modify the 7th amendment to the US Constitution. The modification would state that BOTH the plaintiff(s) and the defendant(s) in a CIVIL law suit must consent to a trial by jury before a jury trial could take place, otherwise the case would tried by a judge. In most cases trial lawyers won't bother filing a law suit if the consent of the defendant and plaintiff was a requirement for a trial by jury because they wouldn't be able to use the threat of a trial by jury to obtain a QUICK out of court settlement. This example applies ONLY to CIVIL law suits and WOULD NOT be applicable in criminal cases. In criminal cases the defendant would still be entitled to a jury trial.
With the modification to the 7th amendment in place lawsuits across the nation would drop off drastically, especially when it comes to the medical profession. After the change to the 7th Amendment the cost of malpractice insurance will drop accordingly, thus GREATLY reducing the cost of health insurance to the public! The only real problem with getting this modification to the 7th amendment passed is a good percentage of our congressional leaders are attorneys (including President Barrack Obama) who will fight this change to the very end, because it would make it far more difficult for them to EXTORT the public once they leave office and resume their primary profession as attorneys. It's time for TORT REFORM by modifying the 7th amendment and chasing the FOX out of the hen house once and for all, and give the American public back affordable health coverage that they once had prior to 1976.
Please forward this message to everyone you know, including your congressional representatives.
Patrick
