Opinion Piece Says Tort Reform In Pennsylvania Could Improve State's Health, Economy

Main Category: Litigation / Medical Malpractice
Also Included In: Primary Care / General Practice;  Public Health
Article Date: 09 Apr 2009 - 3:00 PDT

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"States that have enacted [civil-justice] reform measures have significantly improved access to health care, reduced costs and strengthened economies," former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), founder of the Center for Health Transformation, and Wayne Oliver, project director at the center, write in a Philadelphia Inquirer opinion piece. The authors highlight how Texas -- after enacting "comprehensive legal reform, including appropriate limits on non-economical damages" -- has experienced an "incredible influx of physicians." They write that areas that were "once underserved medically, now have access to primary and specialty care." In addition, Gingrich and Oliver say that Texas' economy has improved because of the reform and that more people are insured as a result.

"Maybe states that have not yet adopted comprehensive civil-justice reforms, such as Pennsylvania, should strongly consider them ... as a way to make the economy grow, create jobs and reduce the rolls of the uninsured -- all while improving access to health care," Gingrich and Oliver write (Gingrich/Oliver, Philadelphia Inquirer, 4/7).

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