Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group, says a General Accounting Office study shows that the American Medical Association and other medical provider groups manufactured a “crisis” of access to care, in order to change the medical malpractice insurance system.
The GAO report found that the volume of medical care delivered to patients in AMA-designated “crisis states” had actually increased during the period during which the AMA suggested it was decreasing.
“The GAO report confirmed what Public Citizen has found in its numerous state studies - that liability laws have a positive effect on doctors’ behavior, not the negative effects so often alleged,” said Joan Claybrook, Public Citizen president.
The GAO compared conditions in five AMA-designated “crisis states” - Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Florida, Mississippi and Nevada - to four states that the GAO determined had no reported problems. Those were California, Colorado, Minnesota and Montana.
GAO investigators also determined that the AMA’s claims that medical services were unavailable in particular areas were untrue. The investigators found that other factors, such as the rural character or economic circumstances of an area, created conditions that made it hard to attract or keep physicians.
Congressional lawmakers earlier this year considered a measure to cap non-economic damages provided to victims of medical malpractice at $250,000. Proponents of the measure cited the AMA’s information. Public Citizen offered data showing no crisis existed and explained how the insurance indu.
(via Public Citizen)
3 responses so far ↓
Christine Olson // Jun 10, 2004 at 4:58 pm
Because my physicains didn’t treat a condition a year before, he fabricated a new condition which was to take out part of my thyroid. Then, the surgoen and several physicains after that did not prescribe thyroid hormone replacement.
Go to http://www.csa.com/hottopics/thyroid/overview.html
to read what a lack of thyroid hormones can do to a person. You can also find information on Medscape and WebMD.
Two physicains I saw knew that I needed thyroid hormones and did not prescibe them.
Their goal, I believe was to make me mentally ill and unable to sue. During this time of low thyroid hormones, several people related to these physicains implied that my husband was doing stuff which resulted in me in not trusting him and filing for divorce. We were married for 22 years. Theres no statute of limitations on how long a physicain can refuse to treat a patient after a mistake is made. There is no statute of limitations for how long they can harrass you. No one is going to believe or talk to someone who appears mentally ill due to a lack of thyroid hormones.
Terry Walker, BBA Certificate in computer studies // Sep 3, 2004 at 11:11 am
I was on the antidepressant paxil which created a personality change when thyroid conditions were discoververed hypertyroidism, goiter, thyroidtoxicosis
the Doctors involved did not even disclose it to me; I consider myself to be a severely mentally handicapped person now as I am no longer capable of doing anything I was trained to do having developed these conditions. Why does the government allow Doctors to continually neglect patients in this way. Thank for the info Christine, OH! I had a cervical MRI done and it showed CNS damage the head MRI showed whitening at the T2, the sleep EEG was billed as neoplasms of the brain. None of these thing were disclosed to me without a fight.
Terry Walker, BBA, Certificate in computer studies.
Ontario disability clasification is disabled.
Human Resourses Developement classification-unemployable.
p.s. now I know that the antidepresant caused me to become and mental and physical cripple by damaging the pinial gland in the thyroid leading to damage in the the CNS causing cristilization of serotonin, melotonin, adrenoline giving tacycardia resulting in neoplasms of the brain
Marilyn // Oct 2, 2004 at 8:30 pm
I would like to talk to someone AsAp
please email me with your phone number
thank you
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