Saturday, August 27, 2005

Quick, Everybody out of the Horse!

Okay, last post on this issue for a while...


Throughout session, some of my colleagues and I maintained that the med mal bill was simply a trojan horse for the greater tort reform movement and the U.S. Chamber wasted no time in confirming that fact, as further set forth in the Illinois Leader:
At the same time the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform (ILR) recognized Illinois’ newly enacted medical liability reforms as a good first step toward solving the state’s lawsuit crisis, they announced the launch of a statewide advertising campaign to highlight the need for additional reforms to restore fairness and balance to the legal system. (emphasis added)
At the same time? They couldn't even wait a month/week/day to give some semblance that their support for the med mal bill wasn't purely an angle for what they really cared about?

Now I think that there is room for reform in our legal system, but in light of the spin they they put on the med mal issue, I am curious to watch how the U.S. Chamber tries to sell this one to the public. It looks as if the tact will be to say "We aren't trying to protect the profits of our members, we are trying to protect your economy".

They are already doing things like claiming the loss of 200,000 jobs in Illinois over the last five years as a byproduct of our judicial system. Um guys, you think 9/11 or the war or the fees that the state has imposed has had anything to do with the job loss? An issue this substantial deserves an honest debate. From all sides.

7 Comments:

At August 27, 2005 at 6:39 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

 
At August 28, 2005 at 1:21 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

 
At August 28, 2005 at 2:01 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anon Panty Person -
You think you're making Rep. Fritchey look foolish, but you're the one posting juvenile, playground jabs. Why don't YOU grow a pair and use your real name, pansy?

 
At August 28, 2005 at 5:36 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dear Panty Poster, why don't you either try to add some value to the Rep's site or quietly go back to posting on the Illinois Leader as Richard T2, and we won't go into the various porn websites that you have been tracked to. Capisce?

- Intelligent Blog Supporter

 
At August 28, 2005 at 5:45 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Which sites by the way are somewhat interesting given some of your homophobic posts.

- Intelligent Blog Supporter

 
At August 29, 2005 at 11:17 AM, Blogger ArchPundit said...

One of my frustrations with the entire situation is that the problems in Southern Illinois don't have that much to do with lawsuits, but a dramatic way in which health care is delivered. Instead of dealing with a health care system that is consolidating and becoming more centered in large urban centers because of the expense of many types of practice, the debate was effectively framed as being about lawsuits.

There aren't any neurosurgeons in Southern Illinois because there aren't many neurosurgeons in small towns and rural areas anymore. Just as other industries have consolidated, so has health care.

I think some controls on venue shopping are legitimate--or some way of standardizing awards in different venues at least, but to blame health care consolidation on lawsuits increasing malpractice insurance misses three factors:

1) The insurance industry's effort to increase profits
2) A lack of accountability for actually bad doctors
and most important
3) Changes in the health care industry itself.

 
At August 29, 2005 at 11:39 AM, Blogger Rep. John Fritchey said...

ArchPundit,

I'm on the same page with you and I appreciate you sharing your insights here.

 

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