Lost in all of the battling last Friday over a certain person who won the Nobel Peace Prize was a new report from the Congressional Budget Office that gave a boost to calls for medical malpractice reforms as part of any plan to reform the health care sysyem.
"The CBO study confirms what Republicans have been saying all long: tort reform will reduce health care costs for all Americans," said Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX).
Republicans trumpeted the findings, which will certainly be part of the battle when the health care debate begins on the floor of the US Senate.
"Doctors are so concerned about frivolous lawsuits that they order unnecessary--and expensive--tests and procedures that are of no benefit to the patient," said Rep. Smith.
The CBO report estimated savings at $54 billion over ten years.
That was interesting on several levels, especially since five years ago, a CBO study on this same subject said there would be little effect on health care spending if tort reforms were approved.
"Evidence from the states indicates that premiums for malpractice insurance are lower when tort liability is restricted than they would be otherwise," the 2004 study reported.
That means both sides can wave around their printouts of different CBO reports to make their health care debating points.
While Democrats should be able to avoid this issue in the House, that won't be so in the Senate, where rules for floor debate are much more wide open.
For many Democrats, the issue of "Med Mal" reform is a non-starter, a position that's blamed on those Pesky Trial Lawyers.
But there are some Democratic votes that might be up for grabs on this issue, if Democrats want to add something on it in a final health reform bill.
Stay tuned.
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