1,300 Percent. That’s the increase in TV ad spending by malpractice attorneys between 2004 and 2008, according to a new study conducted by the Institute for Legal Reform. The number of ads over the same period skyrocketed from about 10,150 in 2004 to more than 156,000 in 2008.

An earlier blog post – Tort reform will lower costs, improve access, quality of care – discussed the annual $10,000 hidden tax imposed on a family of four by the defensive medical strategies doctors employ to avoid malpractice suits. So why is there little or no mention of tort reform in the current health care proposals?

One of the House Bills has a provision to encourage states to develop new ways to settle malpractice claims:

The “medical liability reform” plan, which has attracted virtually no national attention, is designed to “reduce costs of defensive medicine and allow victims of malpractice to be fairly compensated.” (The provision, approved on a voice vote as part of a package of amendments, also explicitly says that this must be done without limiting attorneys fees or placing caps on damage awards).

In other words, it’s window dressing on the problem.

Will Obama’s speech this evening even mention tort reform? He can pay lip service to the notion of entertaining new ideas, but he would never push for tort reform. Lawyers and law firms contributed over $43 Million to Obama’s campaign, obviously hoping he won’t change things. And as Howard Dean makes clear, they’re the source of the problem:

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