Amy Traub

Letter to the Editor of the Week

So I'm originally a Cleveland girl, and while I'm often frustrated with my hometown paper, The Plain Dealer, they did run a great letter to the editor yesterday, following up on a lame op-ed by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. In this week's letter, Ken Lenson of Solon, Ohio points out that doctors struggling with high insurance costs should look to insurance companies for a solution.

Senate majority leader is fuzzy on the facts
The Cleveland Plain Dealer, May 18, 2006

Once again, Senate Major ity Leader Bill Frist has it wrong. In his May 9 Forum article regarding medical malpractice and defensive medicine, he blames trial lawyers for rising insurance costs facing many local doctors. Rather than blame attorneys, who help injured parties seek compensation, why doesn't he blame the insurance industry for constantly increasing doctors' premiums?

Why? Because each year Republicans like Frist receive millions of dollars in campaign contributions from the insurance lobby.

Also, Frist has no clue about the current status of the law in Ohio. In 2003, the Ohio legislature passed malpractice reform, which capped damages for pain and suffering. However, studies reveal that rates continue to rise.

Maybe Frist should spend less time blaming attorneys for this so-called crisis and spend more time getting his facts straight.

Kevin Lenson
Solon, OH

Kevin Lenson, we salute you!

One question though: why be content just to blame insurance companies when we can take the next step and regulate them -- implementing solutions that have worked to rein in medical malpractice and other runaway insurance costs? One of my all-time favorite DMI events, on lowering the cost of insurance with California's Harvey Rosenfield, tackled just this issue.

Amy Traub: Author Bio | Other Posts
Posted at 11:08 AM, May 19, 2006 in Civil Justice | Health Care | Letter To The Editor of the Week
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