by Nicholas Beaudrot of Electoral Math
Yesterday, researchers sighted the highly endangered compromisus reasonablus in the State Capitol, when Governor Chris Gregoire (D-WA) announced a compromise on medical malpractice reform. Both sides gave up their biggest demans: explicit caps on payouts for the insurance companies, and the suspension of repeat offenders for the trial lawyers & patient advocates. The other big win for the doctors was the right to apologize without having the apology admitted in court, a tactic that has drastically reduced malpractice payouts in other states. Beyond these two provisions, the rest of the bill tinkers around the edges, increasing accountability and data collection, regulating the insurance market, and providing avenues for voluntary arbitration as a form of pre-trial diversion. It's not perfect; the governor herself put it well when she said "Not everyone got what they wanted, myself included. But that's the nature of negotiation." For the most part, doctors seem to have made more concessions than trial lawyers. Which is good, since it's the doctors who were making more radical demands.
Elsewhere, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels has announced the city's "On Hold" program, an effort to replace with local indie rock. Who knows, you may get to hear the next Death Cab for Cutie or Modest Mouse before they hit it big? Listen here.
