First, let's kill all the Lawyers!
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N.C. critics: Edwards part of insurance problems
By PHILIP BRASHER
Des Moines Register Washington Bureau
09/21/2003
Washington, D.C. - Sen. John Edwards says he wants to bring down the cost of health care, a move that would be welcome in Iowa, where insurance premiums have been rising nearly 20 percent a year.
But some doctors and insurance officials in the Democratic presidential candidate's home state of North Carolina say that Edwards, a wildly successful trial lawyer before getting into politics, is part of the problem.
Doctors say that huge malpractice awards - Edwards owns the state's single-case record of $25 million - have caused doctors to order unnecessary tests and procedures, raised malpractice premiums and forced doctors to view their patients as potential plaintiffs. The American Medical Association, which represents doctors nationwide, has publicly stated that caps on damages for pain and suffering in malpractice cases are needed to keep doctors in business.
Malpractice premiums have jumped as much as 150 percent for some specialities since 1995, according to Medical Mutual Insurance Co. of North Carolina, the state's leading malpractice carrier. An obstetrician in the state pays $99,000 a year for $1 million worth of coverage, up from $42,000 in 1995.
Rising premium costs have fueled drives in a number of states to put limits on lawsuit awards.
The General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, reported recently that the rise in malpractice premiums is slower in states that have enacted such caps.
Edwards strongly opposes caps on damage awards, saying that it would be unfair to children and other victims of medical mistakes who can't work.
"I don't think that's the solution. I think the solution is to get rid of the frivolous cases that don't belong in the system," he said.
Courts could do that by requiring lawsuits to be reviewed by medical experts before the cases proceed, he said.
To further cut costs, Edwards has proposed creation of a national database of medical records to cut down on unnecessary paperwork. He defended the awards, saying the victims he represented "were all changed for life. They all had lifelong medical care."
David Susa, general counsel of Medical Mutual Insurance, said it's the size of damage awards, not frivolous lawsuits, that are driving up insurance costs.
He attributes the size of the awards to Edwards. "There had never been big settlements and verdicts until John started getting them, and John kept getting them," Susa said.
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