“There is no attempt at tort reform in the Patient Protection and Afordable Care Act [PPACA], and that’s the area where we really need to shine the spotlight,” says Joe Wilson, owner and CEO of PermaTreat Termite and Pest Control in Fredericksburg, Va.
Many doctors are so concerned about liability, Wilson says, that if, for example, your employee twists a knee on the job, “the logical thing to say to him is ‘Go home, put a little ice on it, take an aspirin and maybe it’ll be better tomorrow.’ The frst thing that will be done, however, is that employee will go to medical imaging for an MRI. That’s automatic. Next, that employee will go to physical therapy. The poor doctor is so afraid he’s not going to dot every i and cross every t, to avoid being sued, that he throws everything but the kitchen sink at it. And that’s not just with workers’ comp, that’s with all of these medical situations, like the end-of-life issues.”
A proposal by Mark Bertolini, president of Aetna Health Care, is for an entirely new health care payment system in which doctors get paid for healthier patients, not for doing more things.
“We have always said the [Act] did not go far enough to address the serious challenges facing our health care system,” Bertolini said in a public statement, “and therefore we continue to push for broader reform. We believe there is still time — if people can come together in a bi-partisan way — to improve quality and affordability. That security is what Americans want and need.”
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