On the recordMarch 9, 2010
Every summer, we have thousands of kids hit the ER, whether they ran into a pole or they had a baseball bing them in the head. The standard of care now is to put that child through a CT scan. These are children the vast majority of whom have no neurologic signs whatsoever. But now we are not only spending that $1,200 per child, we are exposing those children to radiation they don't need. So there are two untoward events for what has happened as we see the hijacking of medicine by the trial bar. No. 1 is we spend a whole lot more money unnecessarily, but No. 2 is we are actually now starting to hurt people by exposing them to radiation they don't need. That is another cost. We know we can bring down costs if we change the tort system in this country to one that is sensible and reasonable and still allows, when doctors make mistakes, for them to be compensated for their economic damages and the harm that was caused to them. No one is saying we should eliminate that. What we are saying is, it should be appropriate and in a venue that represents the real risks without disturbing the practice of medicine because we cannot afford it, and the children who are getting these tests, their bodies cannot afford it. It is just common sense that we would go that way. I wonder if the Senator will yield for a moment before we lose our time that I might discuss the amendment I am going to have up in a moment.
