The other curious thing about the healthcare debate as it relates to
Mississippi is the claim by Republicans that malpractice reform will
play a significant roll in reducing healthcare costs.  Mississippi
enacted significant malpractice reforms about 5 years ago under the
argument that high malpractice premiums were driving doctors out of the
state.  The reforms have basically assured that victims of malpractice
cannot be adequately compensated for their physical loss/pain &
suffering.  In fact, they cannot even afford to bring suit unless their
lose is extremely severe due to the practical costs of litigation and the caps on
recovery. As a result, very few malpractice suits are now filed in
the state, which, if you follow the logic of Republican leaders like
our state's own Haley Barbour, should also mean that healthcare costs
have been dramatically reduced (i.e. doctors no longer have to practice "defensive medicine").  But, I have not seen any reduction in
my healthcare premiums, and to to contrary, have seen increases nearly
double the rate of inflation, and consistent with increases throughout
the rest of the country that did not enact malpractice reform.  Barbour talks on the national circuit about
malpractice reform being the answer to runaway healthcare costs, yet he
can't even show how it has reduced costs in his own state.  Curious.