Health and Human Services at the Texas Tribune Festival
We'll be liveblogging throughout the weekend from The Texas Tribune Festival's health and human services track — which includes panels on the fight over federal health reform, whether Texas can cure cancer, what effect tort reform has had statewide, and how patient privacy is possible in the digital age.
Featured speakers include Planned Parenthood Federation of America President Cecile Richards; U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess; Texas Health and Human Services Commissioner Tom Suehs; and Doug Ulman, president and CEO of the Lance Armstrong Foundation.
Follow us here for updates from the University of Texas campus.
Comments (1)
Anna Mae Rooks
Texas must accept the fact that Tort Reform has attracted many reckless,negligent and inept doctors who have moved here from other states in addition to the ones already here, because they know that no matter how grossly negligent they are, they will never be held accountable for their actions.
Victims of reckless doctors are demonized by the state who describes them as "money grubbers", "trying to cash in on your dead relative's corpse," and "hoping to hit the jackpot." Tell that to the three young children who lost their mother when a reckless doctor pierced her aorta while performing a liposuction. Tell that to the woman who lost both legs when the doctors failed to diagnose a plugged heart filter. Tell that to the young man who died as a result of an unnecessary procedure which the doctor performed so he could collect from Medicare/Medicaid.
My son was killed by a reckless doctor who blatently falsified medical records; he was given 119 X-Rays, two of them done as he lay dying. The evidence is there and it speaks for itself; unfortunately, the Texas Medical Board chose to ignore all the evidence and closed their file stating "file closed due to lack of evidence." Had they actually read the file, they would have found overwhelming evidence.
Someone please tell me just who benefits from Tort Reform other than doctors and insurance companies. Lower health care costs? NO. More doctors in rural areas? NO. Safer medical care? Definately NOT.
The Texas Medical Board protects negligent, reckless doctors and puts the public at greater risk. A few hours of continuing medical education and a token fine is not punishment enough for the loss of a life. What victims of med/malwant is not money, it is ACCOUNTABILITY and REAL PUNISHMENT. It is an insult that a doctor can carelessly take a life and just walk away as if nothing had happened.
I am living the nightmare of losing my beloved son to a doctor who had no qualms about risking his life for a precedure which the doctor KNEW was not necessary. He did it for the money and his punishment was....NOTHING. He's free to move on to his next victim...er..."patient".