Chris : What I know about liability reform ( aka, tort reform ) isn't much, but enough to realize that opposition is primarily from trial lawyers and their supporters. Democrats, essentially. And this means that the WH is playing to its base which includes trial lawyers. Hence great reluctance by the Administration to proceed and, to the extent it does, only with much foot dragging and obvious reluctance. Do I think we need health care reform ? Should there be a public option ? Yes and yes. But we are getting so much nonsense along with these things that I am extremely wary of the outcome. Here is a golden opportunity for a bipartisan approach. Instead the whole schmeer is Democratic Party in character, right down the line. I hate to say it, but Obama had very little bipartisan experience in the Senate, he never developed a philosophy that was RC in any serious sense, yet he promoted himself AS IF he was "one of us," and now we can see how far off this view is. Then there is the "youth factor." It is pretty clear that BHO was not politically engaged in the era that Wm Clinton + Hillary tried to pass their comprehensive health care reform bill through the Congress. Consequently Lesson # 1 was never learned. Which is ? Get SOMETHING passed. Get part of health care passed into Law. Don't try to do it all at once. Too many toes get stepped on. And for God's sake, include something of substance from the "other side" so that there is at least a minimum " floor" of conservative support --very useful in years to come. Maybe there are enough votes with both Houses in Democratic hands, I donno. But there were similar majorities in 1993 - 1994 and the health package was defeated soundly. The current version is anything but a safe bet. To repeat, I think reform is called for and would be a positive good. But , so far, we are getting sold a bill of goods. Little wonder at the town hall reactions around the country. Worse, if there is no result this time, it could be another generation before there is another opportunity. Billy ========================================================== There are a whole lot of interconnecting issues with health care reform, and some of them could impact progress; however, one cost reduction issue that would primarily hurt lawyers is tort reform. If we can get rid of and cap frivolous lawsuits we can get virtually eliminate the enormous number of "cover-your-ass" unnecessary tests ordered by medical professionals and greatly reduce malpractice insurance. I recently talked with a physician who practiced for a year in New Zealand. Her total malpractice insurance for the year in NZ was $1,800 (and I think that was NZ$). Chris
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