University of Texas at Austin Law Professor Charles Silver editorializes on the lack of recourse when predictions by politicians fall short. In his piece for The Waco Tribune-Herald, Silver reflects on the poor decision making by Governor Perry when Tort Reform failed to perform as promised:
Texas Gov. Rick Perry also paid no price after making false predictions about tort reform. He persuaded many voters to support him by saying that if we curtailed medical malpractice lawsuits, doctors would move to Texas in droves. Then, after Texas adopted tort reform in 2003, growth in the state’s supply of direct patient-care physicians actually slowed. But Perry suffered no consequences for having given away Texans’ legal rights without getting anything from doctors in return.
The current administration is voicing support for enforcing tort reform nationwide. We hope Representative Tom Price, President Trump’s pick for Secretary of Health and Human Services, looks to Perry’s example and reflects on the harm done to patients’ rights without the promised results.