The Dark Side Of The Force--a.k.a. The GOP--once again showed its mean-spiritedness and insensitivity to the needs of those for whom they work; i.e., us. The House GOPers passed their version of a law designed to eliminate a cost-cutting panel mandated in Obama's healthcare bill and reduce total compensation courts can award to patients harmed by a medical professional or entity. Here's the article: House Republicans combined two ill-conceived health care measures into a single bill and passed it on a largely party-line vote last month. One measure repealed an independent board that is one of the major cost-control measures in the health care reform law. The other imposed restrictions on medical malpractice awards that would limit the ability of patients who have been grievously harmed to receive fair compensation for their injuries. The board, known as the Independent Payment Advisory Board, is supposed to come up with ways to ramp down Medicare spending if its growth rate is projected to exceed a specified target. Despite what Republicans claim, the board, which will include doctors, consumers and patient advocates (misleadingly described by critics as “unelected bureaucrats”) is not allowed to “ration care.” It is largely restricted to recommending cuts in payments to health care providers that would go into effect only if Congress failed to find comparable alternative savings. According to the Congressional Budget Office, repealing the board would drive up federal spending on Medicare by $3.1 billion over a decade. The malpractice measure would make it harder to seek compensation for noneconomic damages such as pain and suffering and would limit awards to $250,000, which is far too little to compensate someone who is paralyzed or blinded for life by medical negligence. It would also limit patients’ ability to file punitive damage suits and limit awards in those suits to $250,000 or twice the amount of economic damages awarded. Malpractice reforms are needed. But there are ways to encourage fair settlements and reduce the amount of malpractice by doctors without limiting the ability of badly injured patients to receive adequate compensation. The Senate needs to reject or bury this legislation. Let's hope the Senate rejects this febrile attempt to eliminate two ways the healthcare law will help and empower people to keep a lid on costs and receive proper compensation for harm at the hands of professionals.