Lawyers, Sums, and Money 2

Another reason that ObamaCare  won't control costs is indicated by this story:

When John Roberts was confirmed as Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court in 2005, he noted "judges are like umpires. Umpires don't make the rules, they apply them." Most Americans agree, but the liberal majority on Wisconsin's Supreme Court made so many suspect calls it seemed intent on rewriting the rules.

These calls began in 2004, immediately after Justice Diane Sykes stepped down to join a federal appeals court. Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle replaced her with [Louis] Butler, a former Milwaukee judge and public defender who had lost to Ms. Sykes by a 2-1 margin in a nonpartisan race in 2000. Justice Butler soon wrote the infamous decision in Thomas v. Mallet, which created a guilty-until-proven-innocent approach to product liability. Wisconsin became the only state to adopt a "collective liability" theory in lead paint cases: Whether a company actually produced the lead paint that harmed a claimant was irrelevant to its guilt or innocence.

Then came Ferdon v. Wisconsin Patients, declaring unconstitutional the state's cap on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases. It argued that the caps bore "no rational relationship to a legitimate government interest." That conclusion was bizarre, since the legislature had specifically passed the caps to make malpractice insurance "available and affordable," and the caps worked. In 2004, the American Medical Association judged Wisconsin to be one of only six states not in a medical malpractice crisis. Marquette University law professor Rick Esenberg concluded that under the court's reasoning in that case, "almost any law is subject to being struck down."

The people of Wisconsin voted Justice Butler off the Wisconsin Supreme Court.  President Obama has just appointed him to a Federal District Court in that state.  This is a slap in the face to the people of Wisconsin, and it shows that President Obama is not the least bit serious about controlling health care costs.