Why is Tort Reform Not On The Table?

Obama blamed greedy doctors for excessive health care costs. He should look at his friends, the trial lawyers, more closely. Investors Business Daily had an editorial They're Coming For Your Tonsils that had some worthy comments on the need for tort reform.

Health Costs: Lawyers are responsible for more unneeded procedures than "greedy" doctors. But instead of capping malpractice awards, bureaucrats will soon decide which treatments are OK and whether you're worth it.

The accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers says about 10% of the cost of medical service is attributable to medical malpractice lawsuits. Roughly 2% is caused by direct costs of the lawsuits; an additional 5% to 9% is due to expenses run up by defensive medicine.