HEALTH Act Opponents Raise Some Serious Questions

Learn more about the HEALTH Act of 2011 being considered in Congress, and why its so-called cost saving measures are not what they seem.

2011-04-15

April 15, 2011 (Press-News.org) A new law affecting health care is currently under consideration in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare Act of 2011 -- HEALTH Act for short -- is aimed at limiting legal liability nationwide for medical malpractice and the production of defective medical equipment.

Despite the acronym used to name the HEALTH Act, many are raising serious questions as to whether the law's measures would actually lead to significant improvements in the health care system, or if they would only make a marginal impact at the expense of wrongly injured patients.

The Aims of the Bill

The goals of the HEALTH Act are simple: to reduce health care costs by artificially placing limits on the legal system. For example, the bill proposes to place a $250,000 limit on so-called non-economic damages (such as compensation for pain and suffering brought on by disfigurement, permanent blindness, etc.), regardless of the number of people hurt or the number of separate legal causes of action brought in regard to a particular incident. The HEALTH Act would also place limits on punitive damages, and set the statute of limitations (the window of time in which a lawsuit can be filed) for medical cases at the earlier of three years from the date an injury was proven or one year after the victim discovers the injury. These limits would apply not only to negligent physicians, but would also protect pharmaceutical companies and other medical product manufacturers.

Would it Work?

Patient safety groups, led by the Center for Justice and Democracy, are ardently opposing the HEALTH Act of 2011. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the provisions of the HEALTH Act would, at most, reduce overall health care costs by half a percent. And, this tiny savings comes at the expense of removing meaningful incentives for drug companies and health care providers to behave safely, potentially contributing to thousands of deaths and injuries annually.

The Victims

Large scale economics aside, those who would be truly harmed by the passage of the HEALTH Act would be individuals injured by medical carelessness. For them, the denial of the right to recover full compensation from those responsible for causing their life-changing conditions could be devastating.

If medical malpractice or a defective medical product has left you injured, speak with an experienced attorney to seek compensation for your medical bills and pain and suffering.

Article provided by Monsees, Miller, Mayer, Presley & Amick
Visit us at www.mmmpalaw.com

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Childhood eczema and hay fever leads to adult allergic asthma

2011-04-15

Children who have eczema, particularly when occurring with hay fever, are nine times more likely to develop allergic asthma in their 40s, a new study reveals. The study was conducted by the University of Melbourne, the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Menzies Research Institute and Monash University. Published online in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, the study reported on evidence from a clinical study of around 1400 grown up participants in the fifth decade follow-up of the Tasmanian Longitudinal Health Study (TAHS) which is the largest of ...

NRL scientists demonstrate novel ionic liquid batteries

2011-04-15

WASHINGTON -- Scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory Materials Science and Technology Division are providing solid evidence that there is a new route towards developing novel, lightweight energy storage devices. By moving away from centuries of caustic, hazardous aqueous-based battery cells and instead using non-volatile, thermally-stable ionic liquids, scientists predict multiple new types of batteries. Rather than depend on highly acidic electrolytes, ionic liquids are used to create a solid polymer electrolyte composed of an ionic liquid and polyvinyl alcohol, developing ...

Text-Blocking Technology as a Tool for Reducing Distracted Driving Accidents

2011-04-15

Distracted driving, especially from text messaging and cell phone use, is a menace on streets and highways throughout Nevada and across the country. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 20 percent of traffic injury crashes in 2009 involved distracted driving. Over 5,000 Americans lost their lives and an estimated 448,000 were injured by distracted driving, and nearly 18 percent of the fatalities in these car accidents were linked to cell phone use. Mobile Devices and Legislative Bans Millions of Americans rely on mobile devices ...

Molecular messages from the antennae

2011-04-15

VIDEO: Virtual journey through the female antennal lobus exhibiting the different glomeruli, based on confocal tissue sections. Click here for more information. Insects have a highly sensitive sense of smell. Extremely low concentrations of odor molecules in the air are sufficient to be detected by receptor neurons on their antennae. Specific proteins, so-called receptor proteins, expressed in these neurons recognize the odors. The odor molecules bind to the receptors ...

Pedestrian-Accident Deaths Rising, New York has Work to Do

2011-04-15

Since 2005, pedestrian deaths nationwide have decreased by more than 16 percent, averaging about 200 fewer deaths per year. But preliminary data collected from the first six months of 2010 shows the decrease has apparently slowed or stopped--seven more pedestrians died in the first six months of 2010 than for the same period in 2009. The survey was published by the Governors Highway Safety Association using data collected from individual states. The study's authors are not sure what caused the numbers of pedestrian deaths to increase. They suggest that two possible causes ...

The Fair Share Act is Back - But is it Really Fair to Injury Victims?

2011-04-15

Proposed Change to Joint and Several Liability Law in Pennsylvania Many Pennsylvanians thought they were done with the Fair Share Act, but the state legislature is doing its best to bring it back. State Representative Curt Schroder (R-Chester) and State Senator Jake Corman (R-Centre) each introduced a new version of the Fair Share Act into their respective chambers of the state legislature during the current session. The proposed change in the law would abolish Pennsylvania's joint and several liability rules in all tort cases unless one defendant was found at least ...

Israeli media increase division between people

2011-04-15

The power that the Israeli media once used to create a sense of community is increasingly separating groups, according to a Penn State Altoona political scientist. A study of Israeli newspapers indicates that both religious and secular newspapers are using their ability to select and present information to divide groups of Israeli citizens, said Matt Evans, assistant professor, political science. "The media has immense power to influence people by the way they frame information," said Evans. "Instead of working to heal differences, they are actually exacerbating the ...

Debt Piling Up? Explore Your Options -- Including Bankruptcy

2011-04-15

For millions of Americans, these economic hard times have meant a growing debt load. In New Jersey and across the country, people are struggling to get a firm footing again. If you are beginning to feel overwhelmed, there are several things to keep in mind. Move Fast Many individuals try to avoid bankruptcy or otherwise dealing with their financial problems for as long as possible. Unfortunately, this is usually not the best option. Racking up huge credit card bills and missing payments can cause a much bigger impact on your credit score than simply facing hard ...

Introducing the world's first intubation robot

2011-04-15

This release is available in French. MONTREAL April 15, 2011 - First there was McSleepyTM. Now it's time to introduce the first intubation robot operated by remote control. This robotic system named The Kepler Intubation System (KIS), and developed by Dr. Thomas M. Hemmerling, McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) specialist and McGill University Professor of Anesthesia and his team, may facilitate the intubation procedure and reduce some complications associated with airway management. The world's first robotic intubation in a patient was performed at the Montreal General ...

Ag firms outperform S&P 500

2011-04-15

While the general economy has underperformed in the past several years, the crop farming sector has been not just stable, but profitable. A recent University of Illinois report comparing the returns from publicly traded companies from 2007 until the end of the first quarter of 2011 showed an 8.6 percent market value increase from agriculture-related companies and companies in the S&P 500 experienced a decline of 2.7 percent. "We looked at 21 agriculture-related midwestern companies in five sectors: fertilizer, equipment, seed and genetic companies, crop production companies, ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

New strategies to enhance chiral optical signals unveiled

Cambridge research uncovers powerful virtual reality treatment for speech anxiety

2025 Gut Microbiota for Health World Summit to spotlight groundbreaking research

International survey finds that support for climate interventions is tied to being hopeful and worried about climate change

Cambridge scientist launches free VR platform that eliminates the fear of public speaking

Open-Source AI matches top proprietary model in solving tough medical cases

Good fences make good neighbors (with carnivores)

NRG Oncology trial supports radiotherapy alone following radical hysterectomy should remain the standard of care for early-stage, intermediate-risk cervical cancer