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When the insurance industry talks about "reform," you should be suspicious – they're really talking about increasing their profits at the expense of patients harmed by medical errors or negligence. "Reforms" like that only make the insurance industry richer and harm victims who have suffered terrible injuries.
Limiting Justice Doesn't Save Money: Even the most drastic limits being pushed in Congress would reduce health care costs by less than one half of one percent – and would do nothing to help the 100,000 people who die each year from preventable medical errors.
Limiting Justice Doesn't Lower Rates: States that arbitrarily cut off compensation for victims of medical malpractice have average insurance premiums that are 12.4% higher than in states that don't. Even the insurance industry admits that caps don’t lower premiums.
Limiting Justice is Discriminatory: The scheme to line insurers' pockets would hurt the most vulnerable (children, seniors, stay-at-home mothers) – in many cases, they wouldn’t even be able to pay their ongoing expenses! They may not have big salaries, but in many cases their lives have been changed forever.
If radical steps like caps are passed, victims – especially those with low incomes – won't be able to find legal representation. That means that insurance companies with all the power will be able to cut off access to justice for victims.
If you want to stem the skyrocketing costs of medical care, help USAction to push Congress to reform the insurance industry, work to protect patients, improve health care, and reduce medical negligence instead of shielding the insurance and pharmaceutical industries from accountability.
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