My E-Portfolio is located at: http://wiltonsmith.weebly.com
It is realllllly a work in progress.
WIP: E-Portfolio
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Wonderful World of Sports Wrap-Up
Reflecting on my blog, I think that I did a pretty good job of staying to my original principles. I did change a little bit as far as what I blogged about from week to week, as I began by looking at trends in sports, then moved towards giving significance to each event as it came into its season.
I think the best way to define the theme of all of blogs is an attempt to give a deeper meaning to sports. Whether its the legacy of Alabama football, the problem with PED’s in sports and how they may influence our youth, to how baseball is America’s past time and should be celebrated, all of my posts did more than just say “hey the Yankees won last night, and they have $85 million worth of players on the DL.”
So I think I will wrap up my blog with my synopsis of why sports are meaningful.
There are many parts of culture. Architecture, arts, language, food, beliefs, customs, and clothing all make up parts of a society’s culture. I would argue that sports define a culture. The UK is defined by their love of soccer. For that matter, so is Europe. In the United States, football is king. In many areas of the Caribbean and Latin America, sandlot baseball is the activity of choice for many kids.
Sports are more than a competition to a society. They bring people together, they give people a movement to believe in, and they inspire our youth to chase their dreams. You would be hard-pressed to find a kid who never dreamed of becoming a pro athlete at one time in their life.
Sports give lots of kids a chance at a college education to improve their life. Many student-athletes get to go to an excellent university that they may have not had the grades to get into, or may have not been able to pay for if it wasn’t for sports and the NCAA. Student-athletes go out into society after graduation and improve our society.
Finally, sports give us inspiring stories. Like this story of a young high schooler who’s dream came true in his final chance at basketball glory:
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50143429n
Whether we watch SportsCenter every night, or get our sporting news from whatever friends won’t stop talking about them, the sporting world defines all of us into who we are one way or another.
WIP: Advocacy Project TED Talk
Here is my TED Talk video on Medical Malpractice Waste in our healthcare system, I have it linked to youtube because it was too big of a file for this site.
A Tradition Unlike any Other….
This week is among the most beautiful of the year. And I am not talking about the weather (though I do enjoy it).
No, this week is masters week. The Masters is the greatest golf tournament in the world. It is beyond incredible. For a few reasons.
As the season’s first major, it is maybe the most coveted prize in golf. There is nothing in the golf world that compares to the Green Jacket.
That longing for eternal glory leads to masters moments. Moments like these:
Finally, The Masters is played at Augusta National Golf Club. Also known as the most beautiful 350 acres in the world. I am afraid to post pictures of it here because of copyright, so just take a peek at the gallery here:
http://www.golfphotos.com.au/FindaCourse/CourseView/tabid/92/Default.aspx?id=643&qx=Augusta+National
As Jim Nantz says best, a tradition unlike any other, The Masters.
WIP: Advocacy Project
So I want to do my advocacy based on my Persuasion paper. In case you guys didn’t know, I focused my paper on Medical Malpractice, and how tort reform can change the future of Medicine.
My idea is that I am going to advocate by showing people the eye-opening statistics of Medical lawsuits. If I can get people to realize that doctors think that upwards of $650 billion is wasted each year because of defensive medicine, people may listen.
If I can talk about how the average Malpractice settlement is over $290,000, and that’s outside of court and out of the hospital, people may realize why I am advocating. (By the way, a trial that goes to a jury decision is an average $800,000 payout.)
The facts of my paper were all big statistics, and I want the facts of my advocacy project to be the same way.
I wish that I could use a method similar to the one used at the end of The Other Guys. I think that would be the most effective way to get a point across. Here is the video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvuDGyUkzoI
However, that may be unattainable. I would like to try to build graphics with that style though, the plain, statistical nature makes it effective.
WIP: Persuasive Somewhere In-Between Draft
I still lack a conclusion, and want to include a little bit more from the other side of the argument. I decided to just go forward with what I felt strongest about: the medical aspect of lawsuit in this country. Feedback welcome….I’m really looking to see if I am really being persuasive or just shouting an opinion at you.
In our society, where the wealth of a nation is driven by private individuals looking to succeed, wealth is equivalent to power. Our country is rife with a culture of greed. To many, money can replace certain intangibles of life. Thus, there is a perpetual system of lawsuit in the United States, where those who feel they have been wronged can receive financial compensation in return. Annuity replaces the void left by the loss of a loved one. A lump sum payout compensates for living a life with mesothelioma. Advertisements cut into programming to advocate opportunities for private citizens to sue, or to join a class-action lawsuit.
This established culture of lawsuit in our country is one that is often called into question. Is it wrong to perpetuate an industry founded solely on greed? Does a financial payout really make up for emotional loss? I think it is wrong for us to assume it is ok to act as if money is a remedy to grief or suffering.
The problem with lawsuit is twofold. In addition to the uneasiness of the industry from an ethical standpoint, every profit for one man is the expenditure of another. This vague idiom is actually very pertinent to the situation. Whenever someone wins a lawsuit, his or her financial compensation has to come from somewhere. Whether the plaintiff receives payment directly from a defendant, or through an insurance company, for every lawsuit won, there is also a loser. Private citizens usually cannot afford to pay out of their pockets, so either they face bankruptcy, or an insurance agent protects them. When insurance companies have to shell out large settlements, premiums rise, and costs increase industry-wide.
This latter situation is very pertinent to the modern health care industry. Costs are rising across the board, and everyone from nurses to Blue Cross/Blue Shield executives are cutting corners to save money. One of the main reasons why costs are rising relates directly to the situation explained above. In the medical industry, a defendant is a doctor facing a lawsuit for medical malpractice. He or she is constantly at risk to be sued if they ever make a mistake; or, in some wild cases, if a patient is unsatisfied. Thus, physicians are required both out of necessity, and by law, to protect themselves and purchase malpractice insurance. The cost of insurance is not cheap, and this causes both direct and indirect increases in costs from care providers. Worst of all, the cost effect of medical malpractice lawsuit is a direct result of the aforementioned culture of acquisition in our nation; it is entirely preventable.
It cannot be denied that medical malpractice lawsuits cause increases in healthcare costs. They do so for two reasons. First, the cost of malpractice insurance is one that burdens many doctors, and is one of the major sources of overhead for the primary care industry. And second, the possibility of facing a lawsuit for care that does not meet the highest standard causes doctors to behave differently. Physicians overprescribe tests, treatments, and waste extra time and resources in a practice known as defensive medicine. Such outcomes from malpractice lawsuits make it a burden to the healthcare industry.
The most direct result of medical malpractice cost is the pressure it puts on physicians to make enough money to pay for their insurance. Whether we are discussing a private practice, a massive hospital healthcare system, or a boutique medical practice that has patients pay once a year for all the access they want, doctors have to charge enough to turn a profit. That means they must pay their staff, pay for supplies, physical capital, depreciation, and another cost: malpractice insurance. Thus, high insurance premiums translate into high costs for patients. There needs to be a change in the industry of medical malpractice lawsuit so that these price-gauging effects can be averted.
The cost of medical malpractice insurance is one that varies greatly. It is dependent on state law, the type of doctor being insured, and the preference of the physician as to how much or how little coverage they wish to purchase. A good model state for this discussion is Pennsylvania, because its costs are comparable to median costs in the country as a whole. The average base cost of medical malpractice insurance coverage for a general surgeon in Pennsylvania is anywhere from $28,000 to $50,000 annually. For an internist, those numbers are anywhere from about $6,000 to $11,000. And for an OB/GYN, the base cost is over $60,000. (Source 1)
It should be noted that these figures represent base costs. For a premium plan from an insurance company, one that provides significant financial protection, these costs could be up to 50% greater. Considering that the average outpatient malpractice settlement outside of court costs a doctor $290,000, and a full trial that goes to a jury decision averages upwards of $800,000, physicians often reach for the more comprehensive coverage out of necessity. (Source 2)
Likely the first response to these numbers is that doctors make an exorbitant amount of money, and these costs aren’t really significant. However, by the numbers, it makes a significant impact. The median salary for an internist is roughly $189,000. (Source 3) At this salary, he or she will be paying 33% of their earnings in income taxes. Add on top of that somewhere around $12,000 for malpractice insurance, another 7% of income, in addition to college and medical school debt, and the same expenses as every other American, and this Internist will be looking to increase their income by charging more to patients.
And the situation of the Internist looks bright next to a Gynecologist. At a median salary of about $255,000, and malpractice insurance costs of $65,000+, an OB/GYN will shell out 25% of their income for insurance coverage alone. (Source 4)
The reason that these costs are so significant is that they are more cost passed on to the patients. Studies estimate that the insurance premiums and settlements paid by doctors without insurance in 2009 were somewhere around $35 billion. That is $35 billion passed on to patients, healthcare insurance companies, and the Government. (Source 5)
Though technically indirect costs from malpractice suits, defensive medicine costs comprise the greatest total of waste arising from medical lawsuit. The practice of defensive medicine is quite simple: doctors do not want to miss a possible rare diagnosis or fail to treat a condition that could have been addressed with an easy remedy. They do this for many reasons; however, one of the biggest reasons is that they do not want to screw up the care of a patient when that patient could potentially sue them. At the end of the day, the physician wants to be able to say that they did absolutely everything that they could, almost in an effort to cover their asses for the future.
So what happens? Tests are ordered that aren’t necessary. A second-year medical school student could identify carpel tunnel in a patient just by hearing the words “tingling and weakness in my fourth and fifth digit.” However, an experienced orthopaedic surgeon is not allowed to perform surgery to fix said carpel tunnel without ordering a nerve conduction test first, costing somewhere in the range of $500-$1000. (Source 6)
Defensive medicine also leads to overprescribing of treatment. Every patient who heads to the family doctor can get a Z-pack of antibiotics if they present symptoms that could indicate an upper respiratory infection. However, a virus usually presents itself in the same manner, but the body can fight off a virus on its own, whilst an infection from bacteria can spread easily. So, every patient receives antibiotics, regardless of whether they will be worthless or not. (Antibiotics have no effect on viruses and viral conditions.) The doctor wants to make sure he or she did all they could to combat what could potentially be a bacterial infection.
Overall, in 2009, surveys of thousands of physicians yielded estimates of how much money is wasted through defensive medicinal practices. The results of the survey estimated roughly $650 billion to $850 billion in wastes annually. (Source 7)
While it is true that defensive medicine is not entirely caused by malpractice lawsuit, malpractice plays a very key role in its existence.
Thus, what can be done do address the increase in medical cost caused by the industry of medical malpractice lawsuit? Outlined in a proposal to Congress in October of 2009 are some suggestions for “tort reform,” or limiting the costs of medical malpractice. Among these suggestions are both specific monetary proposals and broader conceptual proposals. The ideas in said proposal are concurrent with the ideas of this literature. (Source 8)
First, there should be limits as to how much a lawsuit can yield for a patient. The rights of the patient must be defended, so they must always receive at least enough payment to cover their economic losses because of physician negligence. However, there should only be a limited about of liability for doctors beyond that economic loss. Some proposals outline a $250,000 cap, a $500,000 cap, or a cap of no more than double the economic damages. Even this seems a little extensive. No matter how much money is paid out for pain and suffering damages, no amount will make the pain go away; thus, there should be modest limits. (Source 8)
Another proposition is a statue of limitations for how long a patient has to levy a lawsuit against a care provider. (Source 8) This issue is very pertinent to the OB/GYN profession. It was laid out earlier in this paper that a Gynecologist pays a very high premium for malpractice insurance. This is because they deal with the birth of children. Under current law, an OB/GYN is culpable, and susceptible to a lawsuit, until the child is 18-years-old, with a two year statue of limitations on top of that as well. Thus, their insurance company must protect these doctors from each patient for twenty years. A statue of limitations on tort lawsuits would help lower the very high cost of insurance for these doctors. (Source 9)
Estimates indicate that costs of medical malpractice liability could decrease by ten percent with such modest reforms. This would mean a $3.5 billion decrease in costs. (Source 8) Plus, if a similar trend would occur in practices of defensive medicine, healthcare costs could increase by many billions of dollars as doctors’ liabilities decrease.
- http://www.ehow.com/about_5514154_average-cost-medical-malpractice-insurance.html
- http://www.medicalmalpractice.com/legal-advice/medical-malpractice/medical-malpractice-introduction/average-settlement.htm
- http://swz.salary.com/SalaryWizard/Physician-Internal-Medicine-Salary-Details.aspx
- http://swz.salary.com/SalaryWizard/gynecologist-Salary-Details.aspx
- http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/ftpdocs/106xx/doc10641/10-09-tort_reform.pdf
- http://www.howmuchisit.org/nerve-conduction-test-cost/
- http://defensivemedicine.org/hello-world
- http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/ftpdocs/106xx/doc10641/10-09-tort_reform.pdf
- http://www.equotemd.com/blog/obgyn-medical-malpractice-insurance/
Play Ball!
This week marks the beginning of sports’ longest season. The journey of 162 games of professional baseball from April until October began as this week began.
Opening Day for baseball is a very significant day, not just for the sporting world. Many people whose annual schedules are tied to sports see this day as the beginning of Spring. I refuse to acknowledge that it is cold anymore since the first pitch has been throw in ballparks around the country.
Baseball is America’s pastime. There are few experiences that relate to a day at the ballpark. I will agree that a game of football or basketball is more entertaining to watch on television, but I don’t think that going to contest in either of these sports can compare to going to a baseball game. From the peanuts, to the seventh inning stretch, to the ridiculously overcharged beers (for those who are of age) and the five dollar hot dogs. There is simply no experience as unique as a day at the ballpark. Thank god, I am an Orioles fan….can you say CHEAP SEATS?
One reason why I love the baseball season is that it is on every single night. As an O’s fan, and a subscriber to a cable package that includes MASN (the channel that shows all 162 Orioles games), every night I have something to watch on TV. Every night there is a contest to be enjoyed. Every night there is the possibility of a walk-off home run, a no-hitter, a player hitting for the cycle, or an extra-inning thriller.
Many people think baseball is boring, to which I respond that there is so much to every single play that such a statement is made on very weak ground. Every pitch has significance, even if the batter just watches it with his wooden tool resting on his shoulder. From the high, tight “chin-music” fastball that scares the hitter, and moves him a little further off the plate, to the nasty, sinking, 12-6 curveball that looks to a hitter like a juicy tee-ball to send into the left field club seats, only to end up in the dirt in front of the plate. A team can lose a game, but gain momentum because they hit the ball well, but couldn’t perform with runners in scoring position. A team can win a game, but it hurts them in the long run because they had to use eight pitchers to retire all 27 opponents. There is so much to the game when you have to look ahead not only to the next play, the next inning, but the next game, and the next series.
Baseball is a beautiful game. So, without further ado, let’s PLAY BALL.
The Gay Elephant in the Room
So, this week’s CI post may be a little bit of a stretch, however, seeing as how it is all anyone is talking about in the political sphere at the moment, I am going to discuss the current decision of our Supreme Court concerning gay marriage.
Now I am not going to just shout my opinions on the topic here, nor will I try to defend or defeat the opinions of others, I simply want to point out a problem with how the country is reacting, make sure everyone knows what is being decided on, and to pose a few questions on the issue.
First, although I totally support people expressing their opinions on the issue, I don’t like to see how it polarizes some people. Students, and adults alike, are divided and defined based on their views of this one topic. In addition, this rapid reaction to the possibility of a decision on such a may not be entirely merited. The court won’t like make any kind of a decision, if it reaches one until June. By then, I doubt the equals sign profile pictures will still be rampant, or the God Hates America protestors will still have paid time off to go stand outside all day.
Second, I am not sure that everyone understands the cases before the supreme court, and what they can even achieve with a decision. The first case, is Proposition 8, a law in California making same-sex marriage illegal. The court is to rule on whether this law is unconstitutional or not, which may not be the same thing as whether or not it is right or wrong. In addition, they are ruling on a federal act from 1996 that denies federal benefits to same-sex couples. The same issue of limited ability of the court to act is found in this case as well. Even with a decision supporting the gay marriage cause, it would not legalize gay marriage nationally, and finally put same-sex couples on equal ground, but it would certainly be a start.
Finally, I have a lot to question on the idea. First of all, I don’t think it is fair to question one’s opinion either way in this case. Many people believe in same-sex marriage, many do not. Many of those who oppose do so because of their basic moral values, rooted in their religion. Even if I do not see eye to eye with everyone, I think that their opinion should be respected.
That being said, there is another point to be made. Just because something may be seen as wrong to some, or goes against the religious values of certain groups, that does not mean that the Government has the power to outlaw it. This is not an issue where you can cry “separation of church and state” and end it there. This has to do with the Government controlling the lives of its constituents in one way or another. It has to do with social discrimination, and denying equality to all.
This is a deep issue, that requires the utmost attention by our highest judicial body.
March Madness (NCAA and NBA style)
So, as promised, I would talk about the beloved NCAA Tournament some more this week. The first thing to be said here is that I am running a bracket pool, so I am incredibly connected to all of the games. Not only do I watch because I love basketball, and because I made a bracket, but because I am watching 55 other brackets, to see which of my friends will take home some cake.
I want to talk about two things, one is the incredible story that cannot be ignored of the tournament thus far, and the quality of the basketball overall.
First, who could possibly root against Florida Gulf Coast University? FGCU is on a tear, knocking off two teams they had no business beating, and doing it in style. They aren’t afraid to go after anyone, attacking Georgetown on offense and on the glass, skying for alley-oop dunks and pushing the tempo against a high powered team from the mighty big east. These Eagles fear none, and it has translated into great basketball, and an even greater story.
The rise to power of this program may be even more impressive. Every single player on the Gulf Coast roster was born before the university was founded, and were well into school before the young college established athletic programs. They haven’t even celebrated their tenth anniversary of having an NCAA basketball team, and they are now one of the final 16 teams in the Division I tournament? It’s an outstanding and unheard of ascension.
The second thing to mention is the quality of the basketball in this year’s tournament. There has been so much parody in the league all season long, it comes as no surprise that all of the games thus far have been very competitive. However, there have been some edge-of-your-seat competitions. Indiana-Temple, Ohio State-Iowa State, Marquette-Butler, and Harvard-New Mexico to name a few. Games that never had a lead of more than ten points either direction, and maintained a high level of excitement and play throughout. It makes for an tournament matched by no other.
And while we are on the topic of basketball, I’d like to mention that the Heat lost tonight, ending their second-best-of-all-time win streak at 27 games. They lost at the hands of the Bulls 101-97. It was an incredibly physical game. At one point LeBron James was literally tackled. Wrapped up and taken down. Later on, he got a technical foul for trying to atom bomb his way through a Carlos Boozer screen (read brick wall).
It’s a good time of the year to enjoy basketball.
GO ORANGE!
Persuasive Essay Rough Draft
My persuasive essay is going to be along the lines of a personal essay that is supported with facts and research, rather than the other end of the spectrum.
This “draft” is a very opinionated rant about how I feel on the topic and does not have any cited sources. It does have some places where I will look for facts and figures to give my arguments merit. The only “proof” I make is the logical thought process that makes up my argument.
A popular film called Office Space includes a part of the hilarious plot where an employee at the main character’s office is mutilated by a car accident that leaves him in a full-body cast for the rest of his life. He then sues the driver of the car that hit him, and is set for life. He can leave his job and never lift a finger for the rest of his retirement He even goes so far as to have a party afterwards, calling his accident the luckiest thing that had ever happened to him. Examples like these represent a problem in this country: people can take terrible things that have happened to them, many times by accident, and turn it into a huge payout for the misfortunate. Law firms looking to bring together a class action suit interrupt programming with advertising to bring thousands of claims for millions of dollars. Couples fight in civil court for years, each claiming they are suing their spouse for their relationship ending. There is a culture in this nation that if something happens to you, you sue somebody. No questions asked. Lawsuit is the bane of this country. It perpetuates the culture of greed in the United States, victimizes many people, and is one of the major causes of rising costs in this nation.
The United States is a capitalist society, founded on individuals looking to make a fortune for themselves, their family, and those in business with them. Though not entirely synonymous, this culture creates a trite personality trait of greed throughout the nation’s individuals. We always want more. Ask the little kids in the AT&T commercials; two is better than one, bigger is better, faster is better, more is better. This culture drives the idea of a lawsuit. The only reason civil court exists is because people’s love of money is so dominating that they feel a monetary payout makes up for the ways in which they have been wronged. A lump sum makes living with mesothelioma worth it. Being fired is reason to bring forward a lawsuit when the word “insubordination” is too vague. It is all about the money.
Greed drives people to do wild things. Recently, a Judge sued an Asian family who own a few drycleaners in Washington DC. The cleaners temporarily lost a pair of the Judge’s pants. So, naturally, he sued them for $67 million dollars. That is almost half-a-million times the amount that the pants cost. The two sides have gone to court after court, because the Judge continues to appeal time and again to higher courts. The legal fees have put the family almost entirely out of business, something they worked their entire lives to build. They cannot even afford to pay the legal fees to sue him for their losses because of this ludicrous suit. Not to mention, at one point they even offered to pay him $12,000 and return the pants. He declined, he wants millions. He sees his claim as lucrative, not ludicrous.
This brings us to the second problem with lawsuit. It creates reverse-victimization. Since you can basically sue almost anyone for just about anything, those who are wrongfully sued become victims. They must pay court fees, legal fees, and unless they can find a lawyer pro bono, they have to pay for legal counsel. Going back to the asian family, they lost their life’s work to one ridiculous man with an even more ridiculous idea. And they are but one example. The mindset that negative happenings in one’s life should be approached with the mental idea “someone better pay for this” means that yes, someone eventually has to pay. And it rarely is pretty.
The fact that anyone can become a victim of a lawsuit means that individuals and companies have to protect themselves from such an occurrence Where we see this the most nowadays is in one of the largest and fastest growing business of our economy: Medicine.
While the healthcare debate spills out of Capitol Hill among the American people, dividing democrats and republicans on the future of the United States healthcare and healthcare insurance system, one must question the fundamental basis of the debate. Reform goes into the Government insurance plan for seniors and the underprivileged regulation dominates the insurance industries, and the healthcare system is squeezed for every dime from all sides. However, nobody talks about why the costs are so high to begin with.
Here is a proposal: medical costs are so high, and increasing, in large part to lawsuit. This is because of two main drivers of cost rooting from lawsuit.
The first is malpractice insurance. It is the insurance a doctor or hospital purchases to cover themselves if a patient does not receive the highest level of care possible, or if mistakes are made. A very large portion of the overhead of any medical establishment is the cost of its malpractice insurance. What happens when overhead is high? Costs are high. And when lawsuits continue to increase as they continue to come after caregivers, costs go up. The cost of healthcare is so high in part because a healthcare provider needs to pay for what they have to shell out.
The other half comes from how doctors behave when they can be easily scrutinized for mistakes. When an improper diagnosis can land them in court, facing a million dollar suit, they will do everything they can to make sure they miss nothing. Doctors order test they don’t have to, and even sometimes that they don’t even need, because they have to document that they ruled out every possible problem or made even the worst of doctors one hundred percent sure of the diagnosis before they can move on to treatment. In the treatment stage, they perform treatments they don’t have to, such as prescribing antibiotics for every runny nose they see just so it doesn’t turn into pneumonia when they said it would solve itself.
So, I propose a change in our civil court system. Large corporations are protected by a thing called limited liability. Why aren’t we all?