I truly hope that the HCRP replaces the personal injury lawyer with a healthcare professional. Of course, I will not be holding my breath on that but the description on the HCRP website does give me some measure of hope.
We will hear from doctors, people who have lived under socialized medicine, and individuals in the insurance industry. We will also be giving a detailed presentation regarding Republican alternatives.
Like I said, that would be a vast improvement because at the previous meeting, there wasn’t a doctor in the house.
The current Republican strategy on tort reform puzzles me. Recently, Cathie Adams, who campaigned against tort reform in 2003 and has maintained that position to date, was elected as head of the Republican Party of Texas. And here in Harris County, the chairman of the party put a personal injury lawyer on his healthcare reform panel. And said lawyer stated in the course of the townhall that doctors need “economic Incentives” in order to treat their patients correctly. And yet, the reforms of 2003 are touted by the Governor and by the Texas Conservative Coalition as one of the primary reasons for the economic success of the state during the current recession.
Here is an audio clip from John Colyandro given at the townhall meeting held jointly by Rep. Bill Callegari and Rep. John Zerwas this week:
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And here is a video from Rep. Wayne Christian, President of the Texas Conservative Coaltion discussing healthcare reforms that will work.
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Notice that his second bullet point is…tort reform. Here is an overview of the effects of tort reform from former Rep. Joe Nixon, who guided the legislation through to passage. Like I said, I’m puzzled.
So if you have the opportunity, head out to the townhall next week and let me know what you find. Personal injury lawyer or doctor?