Sarah Scores Again!

No Healthcare Reform without Legal Reform

The following was posted on Sarah Palin’s FaceBook account. Spot on analysis with supporting data listed below the text.

President Obama’s health care “reform” plan has met with significant criticism across the country. Many Americans want change and reform in our current health care system. We recognize that while we have the greatest medical care in the world, there are major problems that we must face, especially in terms of reining in costs and allowing care to be affordable for all. However, as we have seen, current plans being pushed by the Democratic leadership represent change that may not be what we had in mind — change which poses serious ethical concerns over the government having control over our families’ health care decisions. In addition, the current plans greatly increase costs of health care, while doing lip service toward controlling costs.

We need to address a REAL bipartisan reform proposition that will have REAL impacts on costs and quality of patient care.

As Governor of Alaska, I learned a little bit about being a target for frivolous suits and complaints (Please, do I really need to footnote that?). I went my whole life without needing a lawyer on speed-dial, but all that changes when you become a target for opportunists and people with no scruples. Our nation’s health care providers have been the targets of similar opportunists for years, and they too have found themselves subjected to false, frivolous, and baseless claims. To quote a former president, “I feel your pain.”

So what can we do? First, we cannot have health care reform without tort reform. The two are intertwined. For example, one supposed justification for socialized medicine is the high cost of health care. As Dr. Scott Gottlieb recently noted, “If Mr. Obama is serious about lowering costs, he’ll need to reform the economic structures in medicine—especially programs like Medicare.” [1] Two examples of these “economic structures” are high malpractice insurance premiums foisted on physicians (and ultimately passed on to consumers as “high health care costs”) and the billions wasted on defensive medicine.

Dr. Stuart Weinstein, with the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, recently explained the problem:

”The medical liability crisis has had many unintended consequences, most notably a decrease in access to care in a growing number of states and an increase in healthcare costs.
Access is affected as physicians move their practices to states with lower liability rates and change their practice patterns to reduce or eliminate high-risk services. When one considers that half of all neurosurgeons—as well as one third of all orthopedic surgeons, one third of all emergency physicians, and one third of all trauma surgeons—are sued each year, is it any wonder that 70 percent of emergency departments are at risk because they lack available on-call specialist coverage?” [2]

Dr. Weinstein makes good points, points completely ignored by President Obama. Dr. Weinstein details the costs that our out-of-control tort system are causing the health care industry and notes research that “found that liability reforms could reduce defensive medicine practices, leading to a 5 percent to 9 percent reduction in medical expenditures without any effect on mortality or medical complications.” Dr. Weinstein writes:

“If the Kessler and McClellan estimates were applied to total U.S. healthcare spending in 2005, the defensive medicine costs would total between $100 billion and $178 billion per year. Add to this the cost of defending malpractice cases, paying compensation, and covering additional administrative costs (a total of $29.4 billion). Thus, the average American family pays an additional $1,700 to $2,000 per year in healthcare costs simply to cover the costs of defensive medicine.
Excessive litigation and waste in the nation’s current tort system imposes an estimated yearly tort tax of $9,827 for a family of four and increases healthcare spending in the United States by $124 billion. How does this translate to individuals? The average obstetrician-gynecologist (OB-GYN) delivers 100 babies per year. If that OB-GYN must pay a medical liability premium of $200,000 each year (which is the rate in Florida), $2,000 of the delivery cost for each baby goes to pay the cost of the medical liability premium.” [3]

You would think that any effort to reform our health care system would include tort reform, especially if the stated purpose for Obama’s plan to nationalize our health care industry is the current high costs.

So I have new questions for the president: Why no legal reform? Why continue to encourage defensive medicine that wastes billions of dollars and does nothing for the patients? Do you want health care reform to benefit trial attorneys or patients?

Many states, including my own state of Alaska, have enacted caps on lawsuit awards against health care providers. Texas enacted caps and found that one county’s medical malpractice claims dropped 41 percent, and another study found a “55 percent decline” after reform measures were passed. [4] That’s one step in health care reform. Limiting lawyer contingency fees, as is done under the Federal Tort Claims Act, is another step. The State of Alaska pioneered the “loser pays” rule in the United States, which deters frivolous civil law suits by making the loser partially pay the winner’s legal bills. Preventing quack doctors from giving “expert” testimony in court against real doctors is another reform.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry noted that, after his state enacted tort reform measures, the number of doctors applying to practice medicine in Texas “skyrocketed by 57 percent” and that the tort reforms “brought critical specialties to underserved areas.” These are real reforms that actually improve access to health care. [5]

Dr. Weinstein’s research shows that around $200 billion per year could be saved with legal reform. That’s real savings. That’s money that could be used to build roads, schools, or hospitals.
If you want to save health care, let’s listen to our doctors. There should be no health care reform without legal reform. There can be no true health care reform without legal reform.

– Sarah Palin

[1] See http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204409904574350370729883030.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
[2] See http://www.aaos.org/news/aaosnow/nov08/managing7.asp
[3] Id.
[4] See http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/new_laws_and_med_mal_damage_caps_devastate_plaintiff_and_defense_firms_alik/print/
[5] See http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columns/OpEd-Contributor/Tort-reform-must-be-part-of-health-care-reform-8096175.html

Palin Slams Obamacare

Sarahcuda – 1 Obama – Zero

Yesterday, Sarah Palin posted a slamming rebuttal on FaceBook, addressing criticism of her stance on Obamacare. It is refreshing to note that she is more familiar with the plan than Obama or any Democrat legislators and backs up her statements with citations – when was the last time a Democrat bothered to do so?

The entire text from FaceBook was cut and pasted to this post:

Yesterday President Obama responded to my statement that Democratic health care proposals would lead to rationed care; that the sick, the elderly, and the disabled would suffer the most under such rationing; and that under such a system these “unproductive” members of society could face the prospect of government bureaucrats determining whether they deserve health care.

The President made light of these concerns. He said:

“Let me just be specific about some things that I’ve been hearing lately that we just need to dispose of here. The rumor that’s been circulating a lot lately is this idea that somehow the House of Representatives voted for death panels that will basically pull the plug on grandma because we’ve decided that we don’t, it’s too expensive to let her live anymore….It turns out that I guess this arose out of a provision in one of the House bills that allowed Medicare to reimburse people for consultations about end-of-life care, setting up living wills, the availability of hospice, etc. So the intention of the members of Congress was to give people more information so that they could handle issues of end-of-life care when they’re ready on their own terms. It wasn’t forcing anybody to do anything.” [1]

The provision that President Obama refers to is Section 1233 of HR 3200, entitled “Advance Care Planning Consultation.” [2] With all due respect, it’s misleading for the President to describe this section as an entirely voluntary provision that simply increases the information offered to Medicare recipients. The issue is the context in which that information is provided and the coercive effect these consultations will have in that context.

Section 1233 authorizes advanced care planning consultations for senior citizens on Medicare every five years, and more often “if there is a significant change in the health condition of the individual … or upon admission to a skilled nursing facility, a long-term care facility… or a hospice program.” [3] During those consultations, practitioners must explain “the continuum of end-of-life services and supports available, including palliative care and hospice,” and the government benefits available to pay for such services. [4]

Now put this in context. These consultations are authorized whenever a Medicare recipient’s health changes significantly or when they enter a nursing home, and they are part of a bill whose stated purpose is “to reduce the growth in health care spending.” [5] Is it any wonder that senior citizens might view such consultations as attempts to convince them to help reduce health care costs by accepting minimal end-of-life care? As Charles Lane notes in the Washington Post, Section 1233 “addresses compassionate goals in disconcerting proximity to fiscal ones…. If it’s all about alleviating suffering, emotional or physical, what’s it doing in a measure to “bend the curve” on health-care costs?” [6]

As Lane also points out:

Though not mandatory, as some on the right have claimed, the consultations envisioned in Section 1233 aren’t quite “purely voluntary,” as Rep. Sander M. Levin (D-Mich.) asserts. To me, “purely voluntary” means “not unless the patient requests one.” Section 1233, however, lets doctors initiate the chat and gives them an incentive — money — to do so. Indeed, that’s an incentive to insist.

Patients may refuse without penalty, but many will bow to white-coated authority. Once they’re in the meeting, the bill does permit “formulation” of a plug-pulling order right then and there. So when Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) denies that Section 1233 would “place senior citizens in situations where they feel pressured to sign end-of-life directives that they would not otherwise sign,” I don’t think he’s being realistic. [7]

Even columnist Eugene Robinson, a self-described “true believer” who “will almost certainly support” “whatever reform package finally emerges”, agrees that “If the government says it has to control health-care costs and then offers to pay doctors to give advice about hospice care, citizens are not delusional to conclude that the goal is to reduce end-of-life spending.” [8]

So are these usually friendly pundits wrong? Is this all just a “rumor” to be “disposed of”, as President Obama says? Not according to Democratic New York State Senator Ruben Diaz, Chairman of the New York State Senate Aging Committee, who writes:

Section 1233 of House Resolution 3200 puts our senior citizens on a slippery slope and may diminish respect for the inherent dignity of each of their lives…. It is egregious to consider that any senior citizen … should be placed in a situation where he or she would feel pressured to save the government money by dying a little sooner than he or she otherwise would, be required to be counseled about the supposed benefits of killing oneself, or be encouraged to sign any end of life directives that they would not otherwise sign. [9]

Of course, it’s not just this one provision that presents a problem. My original comments concerned statements made by Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, a health policy advisor to President Obama and the brother of the President’s chief of staff. Dr. Emanuel has written that some medical services should not be guaranteed to those “who are irreversibly prevented from being or becoming participating citizens….An obvious example is not guaranteeing health services to patients with dementia.” [10] Dr. Emanuel has also advocated basing medical decisions on a system which “produces a priority curve on which individuals aged between roughly 15 and 40 years get the most chance, whereas the youngest and oldest people get chances that are attenuated.” [11]

President Obama can try to gloss over the effects of government authorized end-of-life consultations, but the views of one of his top health care advisors are clear enough. It’s all just more evidence that the Democratic legislative proposals will lead to health care rationing, and more evidence that the top-down plans of government bureaucrats will never result in real health care reform.

[1] See http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/08/president-obama-addresses-sarah-palin-death-panels-wild-representations.html.
[2] See http://edlabor.house.gov/documents/111/pdf/publications/AAHCA-BillText-071409.pdf
[3] See HR 3200 sec. 1233 (hhh)(1); Sec. 1233 (hhh)(3)(B)(1), above.
[4] See HR 3200 sec. 1233 (hhh)(1)(E), above.
[5] See http://edlabor.house.gov/documents/111/pdf/publications/AAHCA-BillText-071409.pdf
[6] See http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/07/AR2009080703043.html%5D.
[7] Id.
[8] See http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/10/AR2009081002455.html%5D.
[9] See http://www.nysenate.gov/press-release/letter-congressman-henry-waxman-re-section-1233-hr-3200.
[10] See http://www.ncpa.org/pdfs/Where_Civic_Republicanism_and_Deliberative_Democracy_Meet.pdf
[11] See http://www.scribd.com/doc/18280675/Principles-for-Allocation-of-Scarce-Medical-Interventions.

Right of Center Blogger Poll

John Hawkins of RWN posted his finding of a poll sent out to 260 ROC (Right-of-Center) bloggers. I found one interesting result:

63% of those polled believe Sarah Palin will be a viable candidate in 2012.

Run, baby, Run!

Linky Love Monday – Sarah Palin & Atlas

Via Atlas Shrugs:

The ‘Cap And Tax’ Dead End
Sarah Palin

We have an important choice to make. Do we want to control our energy supply and its environmental impact? Or, do we want to outsource it to China, Russia and Saudi Arabia? Make no mistake: President Obama’s plan will result in the latter.

For so many reasons, we can’t afford to kill responsible domestic energy production or clobber every American consumer with higher prices.

Can America produce more of its own energy through strategic investments that protect the environment, revive our economy and secure our nation?

Yes, we can. Just not with Barack Obama’s energy cap-and-tax plan.

The writer, a Republican, is governor of Alaska.

Not seen on CNN: Governor Palin’s list of accomplishments

Spending in Perspective

Sarah Palin

President Obama is growing government outrageously, and it’s immoral and it’s uneconomic, his plan that he tries to sell America. His plan to “put America on the right track” economically, incurring the debt that our nation is incurring, trillions of dollars that we’re passing on to our kids, expecting them to pay off for us, is immoral and doesn’t even make economic sense. So his growth of government agenda needs to be ratcheted back, and it’s going to take good people who have the guts to stand up to him, stand up to him and debate policy, not personalities, not partisan politics, but policy to effect the change that we need there

Washington Post: U.S. spending in perspective. Take a good look at items F and G:

This is NOT factoring Obama care, Global Poverty Tax (.7% of our GDP) and a potential second spending bill that the Dems are polling.

The Palin Principle

What a game changer from Governor Sarah Palin:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Dahn Riehl echoes my thoughts:

Just listened to the video. My take – she’s not done and will look to go national in some way setting up for a possible 2012 run.

American Power posts a brilliant analysis of Governor Sarah Palin’s announcement.

Rivka blogging at Conservative With Heart observes that Palin is breaking the mold..again!

She is a woman of great potential – as startling as this move was, she is now free to fund raise for Conservative candidates across the nation. There is no doubt that Sarah Palin will be the person to watch as we move closer to 2012.

A good friend of mine had this to say about Governor Sarah Palin:

Sarah Palin epitomizes what it is to be an American Patriot. Even if we can’t all agree on whether or not she is ready to be our Commander-in-Chief (I happen to believe she was born ready), we see in her a leader with integrity, principles and conviction.

No wonder the left hates this woman – she is the antithesis of their entire belief system. She is the new face of feminism, a woman who does not need the mantle of perceived victimhood to succeed in every aspect of life.

Ric Lock composed a stunning compare and contrast regarding the phenomenon that is Sarah Palin:

Stereotype: Womyn are good Progressive Democrats.
Reality: Sarah Palin is a Republican.

Stereotype: Only Democrats give power to Womyn
Reality: Sarah Palin is not just a Governor, she’s Governor of a State where the Governor has real power.

Stereotype: All manly men are part of Teh Patriarchy, dedicated to preventing Womyn from achievement and deeply resentful of anything resembling a subordinate position.
Reality: Todd Palin is a manly man with a manly occupation; nevertheless he seems quite cheerful and accepting that his wife’s occupation is much higher on the social scale than his.

Stereotype: Good Progressive Womyn are supposed to abort their babies to prevent career difficulties, especially if they might have medical problems.
Reality: Sarah Palin has several (three?) children, the latest of which has Down’s Syndrome, and seems perfectly capable of handling her duties as Governor despite any child-care difficulties.

Stereotype:Patriarchal manly men don’t participate in child-rearing; they force the Womyn in their lives to do it all, which is why Progressive Womyn have to avoid childbearing if possible.
Reality: Todd Palin apparently participates wholeheartedly in child-rearing.

Stereotype: Winger dupes of the Patriarchy are supposed to be disgusted with childbearing out of wedlock, call such girls sluts etc., and cast them out.
Reality: Bristol Palin is an unwed mother. The Palin family (all of them, including Todd and the grandparents) has been supportive.

There is more, but you get the idea the whole Palin family is a direct challenge to the Leftoids bigoted (yes, that’s what it is), stereotyped notion of what a family of right-wing God-botherers should be. Just one aspect of that, the legions of Womyn who left child-bearing off until later and now have psychological problems with it, cannot be borne in any way and must be rejected in toto.

This country needs strong female leaders like Sarah Palin – the feminist movement is dead, replaced with misogynists. There are no strong female liberal democrats that can hold up to close moral and ethical scrutiny in our age. Sarah Palin has become the standard bearer of liberated feminists and is the litmus test of this new and vibrant feminism. Whenever you encounter a feminist, just say the words ‘Sarah Palin’, if their carefully botoxed face melt into an unrecognizable distortion and invectives start spewing from the hole where their mouth once resided – congratulations – you’ve just outed another misogynist For best results, they should be ignored by all sane individuals.

I look forward to the continued progress of Governor Sarah Palin in the conservative movement. She is not playing politics as usual, I am so proud of Sarah Palin.

Palin Smackdown

Via Gateway Pundit:

Matt had his ass handed to him by Governor Palin. Somehow, I get the impression that Matt Lauer laughed when Letterman read his Top 10 list and chuckled at the comments made about Willow, then again he probably thinks Contessa Brewer is a slut.

Don Surber highlights a powerful moment of the debate on GMA:

Asked by Matt Lauer whether Letterman owed her daughter an apology, the former vice presidential candidate broadened it.

“I would like to see him apologize to young women across the country for contributing to kind of that thread that is throughout our culture that makes it sound like it is OK to talk about young girls in that way, where it’s kind of OK, accepted and funny to talk about statutory rape,” she said. “It’s not cool. It’s not funny.”

Don’t hold your breath. Even with NOW complaining about the how terribly Chelsea Clinton was treated by the media – someone called her ugly – once- it certainly does not rise to the level of inciting the statutory rape of the daughter of a prominent politician. Welcome to the age of Obama.

Don’t Call Her A Classless Hack

That is way over the line, mister.

You can Brewer a slut, but dare to call her classless hack and she’ll shut off your mic!

H/T Flopping Aces

John Zeigler labels Brewer and msnbc as having less class than Sarah Palin in an interview and she responds by requestin on air for his microphone to be shut off.

H/T Newsbusters: Brewer recounts on Twitter:

# @JTlol Actually, I only asked them to cut the mic after I’d properly thanked the guest. I’d moved on. He was still talking.
about 2 hours ago from web in reply to JTlol

Yeah, I guess she also bristles at the labels honesty and integrity as well.

Do Not Tell Me It Cannot Be Done

President Sarah Palin…

Jon Voight speaks at the 2009 GOP Senate-House dinner:

On a more juicier note – NY Senate Republicans oust Dems from power.

Letterman’s Baby Mama

No, I’m not talking about his ugly girlfriend/wife or their weird kid.

Ace takes on the Letterman and his vicious attack on Sarah Palin and her 13 year old daughter, Willow.

I would note that Letterman, who is 94 years young, “knocked up” his long-term live-in girlfriend accidentally. And that he did not marry his babymama for six years or so since his kid — technically a bastard during this period — was born.
I don’t really get it. Why is a 17 year old girl to be ridiculed for the same carelessness the 122 year old decrepit fossil David Letterman exhibited?
BTW, I really doubt that was the only time Letterman knocked someone up. I’m guessing this is the first time the woman in question refused an abortion.
He’s not just a has-been. He’s been a has-been for years. He’s actually jumped the shark at being a has-been.

Maybe he just is looking to dump his current babymama for a younger model?

President Palin responds brilliantly to the tactless attack:

Conservatives4Palin has the scoop!