EDWARDS GOT RICH HURTING THE POOR
July 20, 2007 — WASHINGTON – Trailing in the polls, John Edwards by
Charles Hurt
…. and the $38 million fortune he amassed as the most successful personal-injury lawyer in North Carolina history.
What made Edwards such a brilliant attorney – and a pretty good politician – is his ability to look you in the eye while picking your pocket and convince you that’s really not his hand on your wallet.
And so he stopped in the hinterlands of Wise, Va., to commiserate with the poor there who can’t afford health care. Even if they could, they’d have to drive a hundred miles to find a doctor.
“We’re here to help,” Edwards assured them.
There are plenty of causes for this sad heath-care situation. But Edwards wasn’t talking about one of the biggest causes – the cause he is among the most responsible for.
“The primary factor is liability insurance,” said Dr. Stuart Weinstein, an orthopedic surgeon at the University of Iowa. “It’s either too expensive in areas like that or simply not available anymore.”
Virginia’s medical-liability insurance rates – driven largely by the very types of lawsuits that made Edwards a multimillionaire many times over – have more than doubled in three years, according to the nonpartisan Medical Liability Monitor.
In Edwards’ home state, those premiums quadrupled. As a result, doctors have fled rural areas or quit practicing altogether.
for the rest of the story
http://www.nypost.com/seven/07202007/news/columnists/edwards_got_rich_hurting_the_poor_columnists_charles_hurt.htm
Recent Comments