The week has been entertaining, to say the least. I started off the week by seeing The Forty Year Old Virgin at The Rave. Funny, but not side splitting. It is a good flick but after all the great reviews I expected to be convulsing with laughter. Funny, this was my same reaction to "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." Is it a good idea to be laughing at a forty year old virgin in this era of AIDS and angst? After all, forty is the new thirty and thirty is the new twenty, and there is nothing weird about a twenty year old virgin. Rare maybe, but not weird. (And no, not that it's any of your freaking business, but I'm neither.) The Rave Theatre annoyed me. When they opened you could buy decently priced drinks and popcorn... and you could get refills. Now everything is obnoxiously overpriced and refills are available only on large size stuff. Note to The Rave: Popcorn is about fifty cents a silo. No one's overhead is that high. Besides, if you can eat a large sized popcorn and large drink and then roll (literally) yourself out to concessions for a refill... well, Friend, it may be time to check into a lap band or gastric by-pass surgery.
Monday was so long ago, and I can't remember anything worthwhile happening.
Ah, but Tuesday! That was damn good fun. This week's extra long episode of As the Toilet Flushes ,a/k/a Peoria City Council, did not disappoint. The Council debated the pros and cons of a water company buyout and things got a bit crunchy between Councilmembers. There were moments when I thought Sandberg was going to have a stroke and Manning might cry. There were many catchy quotes, it's hard to pick a favorite. Bill Dennis has some good ones on his site. I think I will go with Fifth District's Patrick Nichting's reply to one councilman's question, "I wonder kind of water the City's appraiser was drinking?" (In reference to the City's original estimated purchase price of $90 million.) Nichting replied, "I think the city's appraiser was drinking the kind of water with scotch in it."
Regardless of how you feel about the final 6-5 vote against buying the water company, it is clear that we have a new and much better leader at the helm. Mayor Jim Ardis kept things far more civilized than former Mayor Ran$burg ever could, and did it with humor to boot. Ardis was able to reign in Wildboy Sandberg, putting Sandberg politely in his place after he called those opposed to the purchase "spineless." Could you imagine how Tuesday's council proceedings would have progressed under Ran$burg? Talk about vitriol!
Wednesday. Damn. I wish I would have been at the PETA protest. I didn't know they were gonna be naked! Well, nearly. This is the second nearly nude protest PETA has held downtown in recent memory. I think PETA is a group of perverts and exhibitionists. Matt Hale, The Klan and pro-lifers know you need a permit to protest, why can't PETA pervs make the same effort? Because they want to get arrested. The protestors were wearing flesh toned panties. Tease. My momma always said, "If you're gonna do something, might as well do it right." Seriously, why couldn't the female put on a flesh toned Wonderbra too? When we hear PETA is coming to town next time, lets all get together and stage a counter protest/pig roast. I loved the pic in the PJ Star showing a guy in the crowd taking a picture of the pervs with his cell phone. I'm with Vonster on this one. PETA stands for: People Eating Tasty Animals.
Thursday. The truth hurts. Before I let loose on this next topic, let me just say, Polly is not at her ideal weight. It sucks. Big Time. (No pun intended.) Calorie counting, working out and just saying "NO" to chocolate is hell. That said, and assuming the print media got the story right, someone should give the following woman a hard kick in her big, fat, lard ass. From Thursday's PJ Star:
Rochester, N.H. - Dr. Terry Bennett says he tells obese patients their weight is bad for their health and their love lives, but the lecture drove one patient to complain to the state.
"I told a fat woman she was obese," Bennett says. "I tried to get her attention. I told her, 'You need to get on a program, join a group of like-minded people and peel off the weight that is going to kill you.'"
He says he wrote a letter of apology to the woman when he found out she was offended. But Bennett rejected a state medical oversight board's proposal that he attend a medical education course and acknowledge that he made a mistake.
"What really makes me angry is he told the truth," said Mindy Haney, a patient of Bennett's who credited him with helping her lose more than 150 pounds. "How can you punish somebody for that?"
To answer your question Mindy, this is America and we like to punish for any perceived slight. Apparently, no one told Ms. Lard Ass that if she didn't like Dr. Bennett's bedside manner, she was free to find a kinder, gentler doc. One who would ignore the fact she is overdue for a massive coronary. Ah, but then she wouldn't be able to sue for malpractice. Speaking of which...
Friday. Today's PJ Star has an article regarding the new medical malpractice legislation Blago signed yesterday. The new law says that NON economic damages such as pain and suffering will be limited to $500,000 from a doctor and $1 million from a hospital. Plaintiff's attorneys are whining. If you are hurt by a doctor or hospital the law still allows for an unlimited amount of economic damages such as lost pay from work, medical costs, day care, etc. Something in our system has to give. If a drunk surgeon cuts off the wrong leg, I'd want his hide. I would want to make the twit suffer. Yet, Dr. Drunk won't be the one paying my jury reward, whether it is $1.5 million or $150 million - for which I would cut off my own leg. Insurance companies write the check, but their customers (docs) pay in the form higher mal practices premiums, who pass the extra cost to patients like you and me, who then bitch and moan about a $200 two minute routine doctor's visit. Opponents say that insurance companies pay very few jury rewards. The reason malpractice premiums are so high is that insurance companies are trying to pad losses suffered in the stock market. I suspect the truth lies somewhere in the middle, but I'm going to side with the docs. Medicine is not a precise science and it is likely that most injuries are due to complications and not incompetence. Even if the doc is at fault, winning big money only punishes other patients by increasing the cost of medical care.
Peoria City Council debated this issue a few months back. After reading a billboard, then At-large Councilman Ardis was deeply concerned doctors were fleeing en mass from Illinois. (Don't you love it when a politician doesn't realize he is being lobbied?) The Council considered a motion to limit jury rewards in the City of Peoria. It isn't unheard of, some county in Wisconsin passed a similar ordinance. Although it is not clear if the Wisconsin ordinance will hold up to a legal challenge. After hearing from plaintiff's attorneys, doctors, and hospital administrators, Peoria City Council scratched itself, shrugged its shoulders, and courageously voted to ask Springfield to do something. At the time I rolled my eyes and thought, "Yeah, that'll happen."
If Peoria really wants to become the premier medical provider in the State (think Med Tech District), this legislation might help things along. At least it would put sleazy and greedy attorneys on notice that they aren't likely to find an overly generous jury here.
Have a nice weekend.
If your mind is too open, your brain will fall out. Warning: Names, identities, descriptions, and pictures have been changed and/or used to protect the innocent as well as the guilty. PollyPeoria should not be used or quoted as a source for your senior college thesis.
Friday, August 26
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3 comments:
More people die in the United States from hospital errors than car accidents.
I will die this year (statistically) because a highly respected, not for profit board of director's sitting physician decided that a colonoscopy was not warrented. Never mind that my father died from colon cancer. Pay no heed to the polyps that he had just removed. The standards highly recommend such action, the American Cancer Society supports the procedure in cases with these features, but, unfortunately there is no board or system that states it is mandatory. This makes malpractice hard to prove.
What you and most of the population believe about the malpractice situation has been provided by either the insurance or medical establishment.
First hand experience (as well as a little deductive reasoning) proves their statements to be outright self-serving lies.
I tried to sue. I was not yet fifty and will leave a family and deserved better. Doctors have stated that as well. It is not easy.
First you have to find a lawyer who is not retained by the medical profession; doctors, hospitals, insurance companies, etc. as they all have waived their right to represent patients. When you find one, it will cost around one hundred thousand dollars
up front to get it in motion.
And its hard to prove. I was told so by every attorney I spoke to. It didn't matter that the situation demanded a colonoscopy. It was of no import that the doctor stated a barium contrast and flexible syg. would be just as good. (As another physician said, "Yeah, if you have a fist size tumor.") All that mattered was if this action was malpractice. The definition of which a court would decide. Its easy to prove what a person should not do, hard to prove that a procedure would have prevented a bad outcome. Did I mention that colon cancer is easily cured when caught early? Didn't matter.
So what! How does this affect the reader or the issue of malpractice reform?
I didn't get the colonoscopy because, the doctor said, "Insurance won't cover it." He knew this from past dealings and felt his duty was to the insurers before his patient. This also is not malpractice.
Anyway, he saved the insurer about $2,000. Actually he saved the taxpayers of Peoria this great sum as I am covered by a self-insured public concern.
Three and a half years since diagnosis I have had two major surgeries, two courses of chemotherapy, countless PET and CAT scans, enough medical listings to fill pages.
This savings has turned into somewhere in excess of $150,000 and I'm not done yet. Its also well known that the final weeks are the most expensive. This is how malpractice affects you. You are paying for his indifference and are in many more cases. Certainly each of us know someone with a story like this.
I will pay you the cap on pain and suffering if you will have the procedures I have to go through and eventual death.
What is your spouse or child worth? You are only entitled to what their earning history averages forward. If they were CEOs you're alright, but, God help you if they spent their lives in missionary work. And how can you deny the care and cost thereof going forward? It is senseless.
The nueropathy of my chemo fingers is beginning to bother, the chemo brain is beginning to fail, and the nausea has only worsened so I leave you with facts from a dying man. Facts found out the hard way.
Illinois has gained doctors from 1999 to 2005.
Insurance has paid out less each of these years than the one previous in Illinois.
The major insurer of malpractice is owned by doctors.
The huge awards are always reviewed by a judge and usually reduced.
The juries that make these decisions are people just like you and me, not some evil entity.
Expenses related to malpractice trials have risen because insurers decide to not settle out of court but to take each one to trial, (no matter the merits) because it is in their interests.
The number of cases is lower than five years ago.
The amount paid out is lower than five years ago.
The insurers invested poorly the last five years.
The idea that if we are more acceptable of poor medical care it is a good thing because it will help the economy is as preposterous as the Chamber of Commerce in Auswich in the 1940's promoting its industry because of the jobs and investment it brings.
You have to live with this law. I don't. And that wasn't my choice. How do you justfy yours?
Dear Mr. Anonymous,
First, let me say that I am very saddened to learn of your pain and suffering. No one deserves what you are going through. My heart breaks for your family who may lose you. The doctor who didn't recommend a colonoscopy certainly sounds like an ass, as colonoscopy is recommended annually for anyone over 50 and for any adult over 20 who has an immediate relative diagnosed with the disease.
Upon doing some research, you can find numbers to support either side of the argument. (Lies, dam lies, statistics,) Illinois has gained doctors overall, but has lost doctors - drastically - in some "high risk" fields such as neurosurgery and obstetricians. I couldn't find any malpratice insurer exclusively owned by doctors, although I'm sure many docs are stock market investors. The amount of actual malpractice trials have risen, but docs and lawyers say this is because suits are filed more frequently and because once an insurer becomes known as a "settler" instead of a "fighter" fraudlent claims overwhelming increase. I was very surprised to learn that the bigest and oldest malpratice insurer is getting out of the business entirely because it can't break even let alone make a profit.
However, let us assume that all your arguments are correct. Doctors are often negligent. Malpractice insurers are hugely profitable. Your personal non economic pain and suffering is worth more than $1.5 million (you'll get no argument from me on that one). Who is punished by a big jury reward? The doc? Only if he can't pass on the higher costs of his malpractice insurance. Ha! The hospital? Nope. The insurer? Maybe, but anyone who pays a health care premium or is acquainted with corporate America knows better. You and I do. It is the average Joe and Joans struggling to make ends meet who are punished for your very real, tangible pain. If big jury rewards punished the people actually at fault, I would agree with you. Your point that juries are composed of "people like you and me, not some evil entity" might be part of the problem. If I sat on your jury, my saddness would overwhelm me and I would likely give you whatever you asked for - not necessarily what was reasonable or what the law dictated. Being caring human, I would want to give you and your family any comfort I could possibly provide. Screw the big corporation (and their employees and their families...) If you were poor, making minium wage, or a "missonary" $500,000 to $1.5 million for pain and suffering plus compensation for real economic damages (for which there is no cap) would be adequate. No one is saying that we are or should be more acceptable of poor medical care to help the economy. I'm only saying that big jury malpractice awards do nothing to improve the quality of care, and by forcing doctors out of business, may actually worsen it further, which is how I "justify my choice." A reward of $250 million isn't going to remedy your pain, take the cancer away, or punish the people who were resonsible for finding it sooner. That said, I hope you find peace and health.
Polly
Polly,
Thanks for your kind words.
You accept that malpractice liability is forcing doctors out of business and raising the cost of medical care.
Malpractice insurance accounts for less than three percent of the total cost for medical care. It truly has no effect on the consumer other than to raise a false smokescreen by those who wish to fatten their own pockets.
Look around and see how these outragous premiums have affected the hospitals and physicians in our community. Is there any area that is without new construction of a medical facility?
Past the pricey land of The Shoppes at Grand Prairie I travel to my oncologists meager building, where a man-made lake is being constructed, and look around to see other medical concerns. We taxpayers gave the poor heart doctors in front of Proctor Hospital a nice break because times are so bad for them. Methodist is in such dire straits that they can tear down historical buildings for parking.
To address the problem of doctors leaving, I propose a radical solution. We build universities where we can train ....WAIT ! We already do this. So why don't we take control of them from the medical community and stop the artificial shortage that they create? If they are allowed to control the supply it certainly doesn't favor us on the demand side, does it ? And we fund the whole charade.
But, that's not the problem. That's just the lie and diversion. The problem is a population that want to believe lies so their little preconcieved beliefs are never upset or challenged. So that they really don't have to look in the mirror and see what's there. They want to put labels on themselves and never waver or grow.
ISMIE is the major malpractice insurer in Illinois. They insure the majority of physicians ( about 56% ) in this state and therefore pretty much call the shots. They have decades of research that they refuse to share with other insurers which makes the playing field unlevel. This is what drives the competition out.
It is owned, as a mutual, by its 14,000 physicians. Give or take a doctor, they're leaving so fast its hard to get an accurate count.
It is doing so poorly that it pays its CEO one million dollars in these hard times. They have saved some, however, as their chief opperating officer resigned his 4.9 million a year post after pleading guilty to a felony in the former Governor Ryan scandal.
This is the main source of the misinformation and money for our state officials.
I, too, wish you good health and peace like a river.
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