Kerry Campaign: Bush's Wrong Direction on Health Care

[Khephra]

(press release)

Kerry Campaign: Bush's Wrong Direction on Health Care; Stands With the Insurance Industry, Not Patients

9/7/2004 12:30:00 PM


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To: National Desk and Political Reporter

Contact: Chad Clanton or Phil Singer, 202-464-2800, both of Kerry-Edwards 2004 Web: http://www.johnkerry.com

WASHINGTON, Sept. 7 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The following was released today by the Kerry-Edwards Campaign:

Kerry-Edwards spokesman Phil Singer said: "When it comes to health care, George Bush's approach has taken America in the wrong direction. This is the same president who raised Medicare premiums by a record amount last week and made the wrong choices on health care that have resulted in five million Americans losing their insurance over the last four years. The states that have tried approaches comparable to what Bush is pushing haven't seen lower premiums for their doctors or seen health care costs overall decrease."

-- Bush's Plan Raises Costs, Forces People to Lose Coverage

-- Bush Raised Medicare Premiums by Record Amount

-- Kerry and Edwards Have a Real Plan on Health Care Costs

-- Kerry and Edwards Have a Specific Plan on Medical Malpractice Reform

-- Caps on Jury Awards Protect Insurance Companies, Not Patients

-- Bush has Take $12 Million from Insurance Companies

BUSH PLANS, RECORD ON HEALTH CARE GO IN THE WRONG DIRECTION

AHP's Could Raise Premiums for 4 out of 5 Small Businesses, Raise Health Premiums. The CBO estimated that AHPs could raise premiums for 4 out of 5 small businesses that keep traditional insurance. An independent study released in June 2003 found that insurance costs would increase by an average of 6 percent in the small-business market and that the number of uninsured would increase by over 1 million. (CBO, January 2000; Mercer Risk, Finance, and Insurance, 6/10/03; National Small Business Association, 6/10/03)

Medicare Premiums Increase by a Record 17 Percent: This is the largest increase in Medicare's 40-year history." According to the New York Times, 15 percent of the total premium increase goes directly to increased HMO payments. (New York Times, 9/4/04; AdvancePCS, 8/25/03; Medicare Rights Center, 11/14/03)

KERRY: REAL PLAN FOR LOWERING HEALTH CARE COSTS, MED MAL REFORM

Kerry and Edwards Have a Specific Plan to Control Health Care Costs. Health care costs must be lowered to reduce the cost of care and stabilize the system for patients and doctors. Kerry and Edwards have a specific plan that will: 1) Cover catastrophic care to reduce the annual family health care premium; 2) Make prescription drugs affordable through means such as requiring HHS to negotiate better prices and allow for reimportation from Canada; and 3) Use technology to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse in the health care system by simplifying medical administrative and reporting systems.

Kerry and Edwards Have a Specific Plan for Medical Malpractice Reform. Kerry and Edwards have both included malpractice reform as a key part of their health care plan from day one. In his first major health speech Kerry said: "We need a national system in place that will weed out the meritless lawsuits without taking away patient's rights." And Edwards has consistently called for efforts to reign in medical malpractice insurance rates and also hold lawyers accountable. Specifically, their plan will:

-- Eliminate the special privileges that allow insurance companies to fix prices and collude in ways that increase medical malpractice premiums; Require that individuals making medical malpractice claims first go before a qualified medical specialist to make sure a reasonable grievance exists; Require states to ensure the availability of non-binding mediation in all malpractice claims before cases proceed trial; Support sanctions against plaintiffs and lawyers who bring frivolous medical malpractice claims, including a "three strikes and you're out" provision preventing lawyers who file three frivolous cases from bringing another suit for 10 years; Oppose punitive damages - unless intentional misconduct, gross negligence, or reckless indifference to life can be established.

-- Jonathan Alter of Newsweek: Tort Reform Position "Goes Beyond Bush's In Sanctioning Lawyers Who File Frivolous Suits." Newsweek's Jonathan Alter wrote that the provisions of the Kerry- Edwards reform plan were more aggressive than Bush's in terms of standing up to lawyers. Alter wrote that Edwards had "a tort- reform plan that goes beyond Bush's in sanctioning lawyers who file frivolous lawsuits." (Newsweek, Alter, 2/16/04)

CAPS ON JURY AWARDS PROTECT INSURANCE COS. - NOT PATIENTS

Malpractice Filings Have Dropped; Malpractice Costs are Less Than 2 Percent of Health Care Spending. The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) found in 2002 that since 1992, medical malpractice filings per 100,000 population have fallen by 1 percent. According to the CBO, malpractice costs amounted to "less than 2 percent of overall health care spending. Thus, even a reduction of 25 percent to 30 percent in malpractice costs would lower health care costs by only about 0.4 percent to 0.5 percent, and the likely effect on health insurance premiums would be comparably small." (National Center for State Courts, "Examining the Work of State Courts 2002; Congressional Budget Office, "Limiting Tort Liability for Medical Malpractice," 1/08/04)

Average Premiums Higher In States With Caps, Premiums Risen Faster in States with Caps. According to Medical Liability Monitor, the average malpractice premium in states without caps was $35,016 in 2003. The average premium in states with caps was $40,381. In fact, while six states without caps are considered far about the national average, seven states with caps are far above the national average. Also, ten states with caps and ten states without caps are far below the national average. The Weiss Report found that doctors in states with caps generally fared worse than doctors in states without caps. The report stated: "(D)octors in states with caps actually suffered a significantly larger increase in insurance costs than doctors in states without caps." (Medical Liability Monitor, 10/03;2001; Weiss Report, 6/3/03)

Insurance Industry Forces Drove Up Doctors' Insurance Premiums. The non-partisan, independent Weiss Ratings Inc. concluded that other factors, aside from medical malpractice suits, play a much larger role in driving up doctors' med mal premiums. These factors "continue to drive - med mal premiums up, evidently overwhelming any reduction in jury awards." The factors include, among other things, 75 percent inflation in medical costs and dramatic declines in insurers' investment income as the stock market collapsed. (Weiss Report, 6/3/03)

U.S. Physician Population Increased 26 Percent from 1991-2001. According to the U.S. General Accounting Office, "The U.S. physician population increased 26 percent, which was twice the rate of total population growth, between 1991 and 2001. During this period the average number of physicians per 100,000 people increased from 214 to 239." (GAO Report, "Physician Workforce," October 2003)

INSURANCE INDUSTRY GIVEN BUSH $12 MILLION

Insurance Industry Has Contributed over $12 Million to the Bush Campaigns and Affiliated Entities. According to Public Citizen, the insurance industry has contributed $2,057,389 to Bush-Cheney '04; $658,178 to the RNC in the 2003/2004 cycle; and $9,299,901 to the RNC, Bush campaign, recount fund and inauguration in 2000. In total, the Republican entities have received $12,015,468 from insurance companies. (Public Citizen, Bush's Campaign Ads, March 2004)

http://www.usnewswire.com/

http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=35738

[rpannier]

1. Name an issue scrubbie has been correct on...

I can't think of one.

[goodhue]

2. W stands for Wrong.