October 9, 2007

A Vote for Berke is a Vote for Higher Health Care Costs

Four years ago, voters in the state of Texas voted for a constitutional amendment capping non-economic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits at $250,000 and death suits at $1.6 million, one of the lowest caps in the country. The result: Texas is attracting a flood of new doctors. As the New York Times reported:

Four years after Texas voters approved a constitutional amendment limiting awards in medical malpractice lawsuits, doctors are responding as supporters predicted, arriving from all parts of the country to swell the ranks of specialists at Texas hospitals and bring professional health care to some long-underserved rural areas.

Now the Democrats have nominated a trial lawyer to fill the open state Senate seat of ex-Sen. Ward Crutchfield, another Democrat lawyer who resigned August 6 after pleading guilty to taking a bribe. The special election to fill the 10th district seat in the state Senate is Nov. 15.

Medical malpractice reform is vitally important in Tennessee in order to make health care more accessible and less costly. Will a Democratic trial lawyer vote for medical malpractice reform? Not likely.

A vote for Andy Berke is in all likelihood a vote for higher health care costs. It's also a vote for higher taxes or less health care coverage for people on Tennessee's TennCare rolls because, as health care costs rise, either taxes will have to be increased or TennCare's benefits package will have to be cut in order to keep the TennCare budget balanced.