Healthcare Tort Reform in Texas - Essay Example

Introduction Health care tort reforms in Texas effected under the common law to limit damages and malpractices in September 1 in 2003. The law’s main aim was to protect the physicians and reduce healthcare costs in all the counties that were most affected with healthcare malpractices (White and George, 333). Before enacting the law, there were many malpractice cases against the physicians from their patients. This led to the increment of the premiums of the malpractice insurer, which represents most of the doctors in Texas. The premiums increased by 147% in 2000, which was unheard of before. Effecting of the healthcare tort reforms led to the premiums reducing drastically and it is about 46%. The notion of tort is that when one harms another should pay the injured party some money that is regarded as compensation since the money should be equivalent to the harm the person has caused to the other party. The injured person should be brought back to the state he was before the damage was made (White and George, 333). The law has led to the physicians gaining courage to undertake risky operations and thus bettering their exploration in Medicare field thus better skills. This has improved the healthcare in Texas and other counties that have embraced the reforms. Since the effecting of the reforms, many physicians and doctors have migrated from counties where the malpractice law is still in use to Texas is rapid with the Texas Medical Association has reported 28000 new physicians (Pozgar, 291). History of Healthcare Torts In the past years since the law of Tort came to be the plaintiff has been the main beneficiary in any of the tort’s law suites. This made the physicians afraid to undertake or to be involved in the process of trying to solve and cure diseases that are likely to cause harm or death to the patients. This led to many deaths of American citizens and other parts of the world that followed the law of tort, as it was (Baker and Tom, 373). In the mid-1990’s the American government moved a step towards ending the fear that most physicians are faced with in their daily activities in the verge of reducing the number of deaths in the country and bettering the healthcare in the republic. In 1995, the republicans took the step to reform the law of tort to curtail specific lawsuit abuses in courts of law. These reforms advocated the limiting of punitive damages. The reforms were enacted in 2003 in Texas and other countries and the medical liability litigation were limited to $750000 for all non-economic damages. The reforms made impact following their enactment and in 2004, the Texas Hospital Association reported a 70% reduction in the number of lawsuits against malpractices (Baker and Tom, 373). Although the reduction of the lawsuits against malpractices can be because of the reforms, the critics of the reforms term the reforms as a failure since starting a lawsuit against malpractices is still very expensive ranging from $50000 to $100000. Most people against the reforms consider as the main reason behind the decline of the lawsuits filed. The medical insurance rates also reduced drastically of over 21%. Impact on Texas Since the Healthcare Tort reforms Texas has recorded economically and on their Medicare. On the economic side, the state has recorded an increase of the annual spending, annual output, and the annual state tax revenue by $112.5, $51.2, and $2.6 billion respectively. This has led to the rapid growth of Texas and the population count is in the rise due to the availability of jobs due to the vast economic growth of Texas (Kinney and Eleanor, 222). On the Medicare side, Texas has recorded $468.9 billion in the annual benefits from safer products. The Texans have embraced the health insurance due to the support the reform has received in the state. The Medicare in Texas has benefited from the massive migration of physicians from other states that have not embraced the reforms. This boosts the level health care in the state and since the physicians are not afraid to explore in diseases that would be a risky adventure in other states (Kinney and Eleanor, 222). This leads to the treatment of a variety of diseases for instance cancer giving the physicians the freedom of treating diseases without carrying-out unnecessary researches. The unnecessary researches are considered as a waste of time and adding the medical cost but their reductions are a way to reduce the costs. Although this is the notion there has been no proof that the medical costs have reduced in Texas but only time will tell. Real life story of how the messed up tort system affected somebodys career/business Justine Hensley’s life story is a clear indication of how the messed up tort system has affected people’s life. Before he moved to Texas, he was a resident at North Carolina hospital where he states that everyone had to have CT scans even when it was not necessary. The tort reforms were not being practiced in North Carolina and this led to the physicians opt to make medical decisions that were generally based on protecting themselves instead of what would actuary benefit their patients (Morissette, 121) . Justin was tired of these practices and thus he and his wife decided to relocate. They moved to Texas on the since the lawyers in North Carolina were on the verge of recruiting patients who had not been satisfied with the health care they had received. The decision to move to Texas was because they could acquire protection from frivolous lawsuits. Dr. Justin noted that in his training a surgeon would not have risked touching a kid who was suffering from appendicitis until the kid had a CT scan. The scan is not a necessity in Texas as he states that the surgeon due to experience should proceed with the treatment by following the procedures based on the clinical diagnosis. This shows that at the expense of the CT scan, the surgeon would watch the patient die since he fears the frivolous lawsuits that he will face if he tried to help the patient and he fails (Morissette, 121). Dr. Justin is against such practices and he notes that the physicians should be in a position to make justified decisions that will help the patients and reduce the death rates. The Results of Reform in Texas The House Republicans’ Bill 4 proposed a 1-year statute of limitation on medical malpractice claims involving patients who are adults gave room for a longer period on more complicated issues on children. It also stated that in the case where the patient’s Medicare is involved in different heath centers then all the health cares are liable in case of a malpractice lawsuit. In Texas, since the reforms have been enacted the doctors who practice outdated medicine benefit the same as those who carefully follow evidence-based guidelines (Morreim, 756) . The reform was aimed at reducing the medical costs but the result does not show that since even after the embracing the reforms the patients have not registered any decrease on the cost. The decline in lawsuits on malpractices has resulted on negligence by the physicians in Texas. The reforms have protected the physicians and thus most lawyers in Texas opt not to venture in pursuing on such cases of malpractices. This leaves the patients with no choice they remain silent in agony even in the case of malpractices against them (Morreim, 756) . The malpractice insurers thus earn billions from their premiums whereas the average person suffers from damages without a way out. It is thus the business of the state government to find a way to resolve the on-going problems in Texas. The county government should find a way to limit the negligence among physicians. This is possible by reducing the fee of filling a lawsuit and providing advocates to the middle class and the poor who incur damages and injuries. Conclusion In conclusion, healthcare tort reforms in Texas have improved the healthcare due to the availability of medical experts following the vast migration of doctors and physicians to Texas since the state embraced the reforms (Pozgar and Nina, 21). . The improved healthcare has led to the Texans embracing medical insurances thus the rapid rise of the Texans taking medical policies. Since the health is the key to economic growth Texas’ economy has grown rapidly since 2003. The output of the Texans has rapidly grown and this leads to more spending and revenue to the county government. The number of permanent employment has increased drastically because of the better healthcare. The physicians are also earning more with fewer risks of frivolous lawsuits. The economic growth in Texas is providing the bases of better living conditions and thus limiting the chances of illness caused by poor living conditions. Crime is also declining due to the better living conditions and earnings since most of the Texans are employed and earn enough to sustain their daily expenses. Works Cited Baker, Tom. The Medical Malpractice Myth. Sydney N. S. W.: RHYW, 2010. Kinney, Eleanor D. Protecting American Health Care Consumers. Durham: Duke University Press, 2009 Morissette, Emily L. Personal Injury and the Law of Torts for Paralegals. New York: Aspen Publishers, 2009 Morreim, E H. Holding Health Care Accountable: Law and the New Medical Marketplace. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001 Pozgar, George D, and Nina M. Santucci. Legal Essentials of Health Care Administration. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2009 Pozgar, George D. Legal Aspects of Health Care Administration. Sudbury, Mass: Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2012. White, George E. Tort Law in America: An Intellectual History. Oxford [u.a.: Oxford Univ. Press, 2003. Read More