With the Supreme Court upholding President Obama’s signature health care reform law, and some vowing that his successor will overturn it, it is important to examine what Mitt Romney has pledged to do as President.
Romney has made clear that he will institute caps on non-economic damages for medical malpractice lawsuits. This includes damages for pain and suffering, as a result of malpractice by medical professionals. Many believe that limiting such damages is harmful to patients who are injured by negligent medical personnel.
More broadly, Romney has promised to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act, but his plan is short on details.
Romney has stated that his plan would turn Medicaid over to the states, and cap its growth at the rate of inflation plus 1percent, amounting to a deep cut in the program. Romney would also allow private insurance to be sold from one state to another, so that insurers could choose the state with the laws they prefer, similar to the practices of credit card companies today.
In addition to capping non-economic damages for medical malpractice suits, Romney would encourage “consumer reports-type” rankings of health plans, with the intention of making health care more of a free market.
Romney’s plan also includes a vow to “end tax discrimination against the individual purchase of insurance.” The current health care system depends on the tax deduction for employer-based health care. If Romney plans to put an end to that subsidy, he has yet to explain what he will replace it with.
Paul Greenberg is a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer and Chicago medical malpractice attorney with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit https://briskmanandbriskman.com/.