Daily News Updates - Health Insurance News

Mr. McCain’s Definition of ‘Best Coverage’, Pt.5 – Malpractice ‘caps’ & ‘free-riders’.

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A big stir has been raised over malpractice lawsuits. Mr. McCain touts this as being a major area for cost savings and criticizes Mr. Obama for not. Although there is almost universal agreement that the current system is a failure, this tends to be more of a legal issue than a health insurance/care system issue. The reason is not that the two aren’t related, however. Since this has been a bone-of-contention among many, expert teams have researched the ramifications as they apply to health insurance/care. In the end, it was determined that “since "malpractice costs represent less than 2 percent of total health insurance/care spending” any claims of this causing a national crises have been ‘overblown’.” As far as placing caps on lawsuits the experts determined that “because frivolous lawsuits are so few, to place a general cap over all cases would unduly restrict the bonafide claims.” For further evidence to back up these findings, please refer to the article: “Myth Buster 101, Pt.8 – (6) Significance of Malpractice Suits.” Good idea but, no significant effect on health costs.

The next topic Mr. Post raises is the high cost of Emergency Room treatment. It is known to be the most expensive treatment. All agree that this must be addressed. The biggest problem tends to be a segment called ‘free-riders’. These are people who have no health insurance, either by choice or necessity and frequent the ER for free treatment. Mr. McCain proposes implementing or sponsoring more ‘quick clinics’ to provide a better alternative for non-emergencies of those with no health insurance. This is a very good idea.

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