1.President Bush stated in the State of the Union address that frivolous law suits were a priority for him this next year. No where is this more critical than in medical mal practice law suits. Reportedly, this past year, prior to the election, the President wanted to successfully address the medicare prescription matter. While many would argue that it was successfully addressed, it was addressed. The President's priority for 2004 is malpractice reform, but he wants to do address all tort litigation, not just that in the medical arena. The biggest opponent to this nationally and in the states is the trial lawyers, who coincidently happen to be major contributors to legislators.

Normally, discussions of mal practice reform grant that there are mistakes and that patients are entitled to have actual expenses reimbursed, but that pain, suffering and punishment awards should be limited. Proponents argue that there should be caps on these types of awards, and on attorney fees.

Assignment:

Part 1: Post your thinking about the consequences of rapidly increasing medical mal practice rates (often doubling or tripling each year).

Part 2: Post your thinking about the proposed solutions, most of which has been summarized above.