Better virgin, if in Virginia...
An American guy I met the other day told me this interesting story:
His sister is an ObGyn (obstetrician-gynecologist). She was offered a job in a hospital in the state of Virginia, for 2 million dollars per year!!! And she turned it down!!!
Why?:
Apparently, recent legislature in the state of Virginia made it so that there is absolutely no state support of any kind, for mothers who have just had babies. As a result, if a mother gives birth to a child with some sort of defect, she is in DEEP trouble. She has to shoulder all sorts of expenses and troubles by herself, especially if she has no private insurance (which is typically unlikely to cover such expenses anyway). So, what do such people resort to? They SUE the obgyn that delivered their baby. Even if they have a totally ridiculous case, they go for it, because it is their only chance to obtain the money required to raise their child. And what's more, due to the jury-based system in the US, they often WIN the cases, because the jury feels sorry for the poor mother and child, even if it does not make sense.
So this has driven most of the obgyns out of the state of Virginia, since these law suits can cost them enormous amounts of money, or even their practitioner's license. And now the Virginians are trying to attract new obgyns from other states, offering them enourmous salaries!
Nice!
His sister is an ObGyn (obstetrician-gynecologist). She was offered a job in a hospital in the state of Virginia, for 2 million dollars per year!!! And she turned it down!!!
Why?:
Apparently, recent legislature in the state of Virginia made it so that there is absolutely no state support of any kind, for mothers who have just had babies. As a result, if a mother gives birth to a child with some sort of defect, she is in DEEP trouble. She has to shoulder all sorts of expenses and troubles by herself, especially if she has no private insurance (which is typically unlikely to cover such expenses anyway). So, what do such people resort to? They SUE the obgyn that delivered their baby. Even if they have a totally ridiculous case, they go for it, because it is their only chance to obtain the money required to raise their child. And what's more, due to the jury-based system in the US, they often WIN the cases, because the jury feels sorry for the poor mother and child, even if it does not make sense.
So this has driven most of the obgyns out of the state of Virginia, since these law suits can cost them enormous amounts of money, or even their practitioner's license. And now the Virginians are trying to attract new obgyns from other states, offering them enourmous salaries!
Nice!
posted by Anonymous at
11:43 AM
7 Comments:
Interesting story, and no doubt true. I don’t know why, but the great state of Virginia has really been taking a beating lately in the blogs and I feel compelled to defend it if I have at least one leg to stand on (sorry, Steph). So let me say that there IS state support for some mothers who have just had babies, but you have to be in the lowest economic bracket(s) to be eligible. Otherwise, the system is fair and square for everyone, because the truth is that the ONLY insurance available to most citizens of working age in America (not just Va) is private. Socialism is a Bad Thing (especially south of the Mason Dixon Line), and so is the expectation that Big Government will help you if you can’t help yourself.
On the other hand, if you suffer something awful (car accident, lung cancer, birth defect, hot coffee burn at McDonalds), the prevailing wisdom tells you that there must be somebody who should take the blame and pay. Every second advertisement on TV is for a lawyer who will find that person for you and fight him for free (i.e. a percentage of your winnings). It’s all a vicious circle, really, of powerlessness and (false) empowerment; sometimes a frivolous lawsuit is one’s only recourse. And yet, the result of all these malpractice suits (and the insurance against them that doctors are forced to carry) is medical costs so sky-high that hardly anybody can afford to get sick at all (except the insurance agents and HMOs; they’re just rollin in it).
Your friend’s sister is right to be cautious. But if being a doctor is such a high-risk career, it should pay like one. I think she should take the deal (Va really is a nice place), and hope for the best. That’s the best capitalism has to offer.
I must admit that I kind of agree with your view. I just thought that it made an interesting point, i.e. how one thing can lead to another...
What I do believe, however, is that, given the resources available on our planet, and especially on the more "advanced" parts of it, there should be a (not so complicated) formula that would allow everyone to live a relatively decent life, without having to struggle for survival or resort to unnatural behaviour such as this. And a government's role, if any, should be to try to ensure this bare minimum of decency for everyone. Just that... and then let capitalism and free market forces take care of the rest.
But clearly it fails to do it, and that's sad...
PS. I also think that Virginia is quite beautiful (have been doing some hiking on the Apalachian trail, and along the Potomac and some of its branches)
I agree with you completely, and I could say so much more about it. But I think, for once, I've said enough, and anyway, you've seen it for yourself.
P.S. I loved your P.S. Evocative.
I agree with you completely, and I could say so much more about it. But I think, for once, I've said enough, and anyway, you've seen it for yourself.
P.S. I loved your P.S. Evocative.
I agree with you completely, and I could say so much more about it. But I think, for once, I've said enough, and anyway, you've seen it for yourself.
P.S. I loved your P.S. Evocative.
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