This Makes Me Sick

Opinion: Medical Errors Hidden in PA

We've enjoyed the lively banter taking place in the Philadelphia Daily News, where the letters to the editor are getting heated.

It all started when a counter-punch was thrown after a doc talked of rising med-mal insurance rates—we covered it here. Now the head of the Pennsylvania trial Lawyers Association weighs in. Excerpt:

"Nationally, we know that as many as 98,000 people die annually because of a preventable medical error. But in Pennsylvania, these errors remain hidden from patients and the public.

But taking away the rights of someone who has been hurt by malpractice is the wrong answer to a serious problem. The best way to stop malpractice suits is to prevent malpractice." Read the rant here.

Any one think there is a third way between these sparring—and well-educated—factions?

Docs and lawyers: We demand you hash this sh$# out once and for all over some cheese steaks. Gino will moderate

Opinion: Paying Off Rick Santorum

A recent letter to the editor of the Philadelphia Daily News that MENTIONS Sen. Rick Santorum R-PA (smiling at left):

The malpractice debate

I DON'T DOUBT that Dr. Margaret Hessen has rising insurance costs (op-ed, "Doc's view of malpractice debate," Sept. 8).

We all are feeling that burden. But I hold no sympathy for the good doctor who puts her misguided trust into the hands of Republican politicians and price-gouging insurance companies.

The Congressional Budget Office found that malpractice costs account for a very small fraction of total health care spending and that even radical reform would have a relatively small effect on total health-plan premiums. This is a non-partisan agency under the GOP-led Bush administration that came to this conclusion. (You can find the information here.)

Why does Dr. Hessen blame Americans for her insurance premiums instead of personal responsibility? Because it's easier to attack Americans than it is to fight the insurance-industry lobby.

The industry spends billions of dollars a year :  to pass laws that hurt Americans. What we need are new politicians, publicly financed elections and national health care. And doctors who accept personal responsibility for their actions.

Can we get a witness, er, comment?