The Political Stench
After you have reviewed the evidence, then you might ask how it is that TMLT can act this way and get away with this.
Well, consider these facts:
1. TMLT was created at the demand of the Texas Medical Association, which is one of the most powerful lobbying groups in Texas. According to Texans for Public Justice, the Texas Medical Association dumps money on the legislators who do its bidding. Check out http://info.tpj.org/reports/austinsoldest06/lobbyists.html for more information, where you will find this among the data TPJ has collected:
2. TMA demanded, and received, the ability to create TMLT and operate it without being bound by the requirements of the Texas Insurance Code. See the statute on the other pages here for confirmation of that. But, remember that TMA had to promise that it would not be in the business of selling insurance, but only purchasing it on behalf of its members in order to get the real insurance companies to back off during that legislative session.
3. Now, the reader should realize that TMA does not act alone in its lobbying efforts, so there is much more cash than one might realize. TMA typically spends its money in coordination with the Texas Hospital Association, directs money from its individual members, the Texas Healthcare Association, as well as coordinated spending with Texans for Lawsuit Reform and its individual members. The total figures of the lobbying effort, if you have the time to connect all of the dots, are staggering. According to TPJ:
Now, if you are really savvy, you might even check out the TexPac website at www.texpac.org So, who is Texpac? Well, they are the political action committee of the TMA. On the Texpac site, you will see how they brag about how politically powerful they are:
Can it be that Texas citizens' rights have been bought by and sold to this group of people so that normal workaday folks can't hold doctors and hospitals accountable when a loved one is killed in a hospital by medical malpractice? Can it be that the stories of the "Owner's Box" in Austin are true? Can it be true that the TMA lobbyists, complete with bimbos on their arms and large cigars in their hands, sat in the gallery of the 2003 Texas House chamber and dictated how the legislators would vote on the medical liability "tort reform bill"? Can it be that the TMA really did purchase those votes from the Republican politicians led by now-disgraced leader Joe Nixon [who was later run out of town by the voters]?
Wow. That sounds cynical. And, that is a discussion for another day.
But, we can at least expose the legislators who take TLR and TMA's cash, can't we? Well, sure we can. For TLR, you can simply check out their website at www.tlrpac.com They actually brag about it. The legislators' names you find on that website have no shame, so check it out right now. And, just for fun, take a look at the folks who are behind TLR. Ask yourself, do these folks have my best interests at heart?
Next, you can go to the Texas Ethics Commission website and search for the donors at http://www.ethics.state.tx.us/main/search.htm But, you can download spreadsheets for TMA and TLR's political cash for years 2002 through May 2010 here:
TMA 2002
TMA 2003
TMA 2004
TMA 2005
TMA 2006
TMA 2007
TMA 2008
TMA 2009
TMA 2010
TLR 2002
TLR 2003
TLR 2004
TLR 2005
TLR 2006
TLR 2007
TLR 2008
TLR 2009
TLR 2010
So, judge for yourself. Is TMLT/TMA a corrupt organization or not? Did they purchase Texas citizens' rights to justice in the 2003 legislative session? Do they flagrantly violate Texas laws related to the limited powers they have? Do they violate the Texas Penal Code with impunity? Do they get away with it by lavish political contributions?
Is it time for the legislature to repeal Tex.Ins.Code art. 21.49-4 in order to disband TMLT? More on this one later....
Next Page
Well, consider these facts:
1. TMLT was created at the demand of the Texas Medical Association, which is one of the most powerful lobbying groups in Texas. According to Texans for Public Justice, the Texas Medical Association dumps money on the legislators who do its bidding. Check out http://info.tpj.org/reports/austinsoldest06/lobbyists.html for more information, where you will find this among the data TPJ has collected:
2. TMA demanded, and received, the ability to create TMLT and operate it without being bound by the requirements of the Texas Insurance Code. See the statute on the other pages here for confirmation of that. But, remember that TMA had to promise that it would not be in the business of selling insurance, but only purchasing it on behalf of its members in order to get the real insurance companies to back off during that legislative session.
3. Now, the reader should realize that TMA does not act alone in its lobbying efforts, so there is much more cash than one might realize. TMA typically spends its money in coordination with the Texas Hospital Association, directs money from its individual members, the Texas Healthcare Association, as well as coordinated spending with Texans for Lawsuit Reform and its individual members. The total figures of the lobbying effort, if you have the time to connect all of the dots, are staggering. According to TPJ:
Now, if you are really savvy, you might even check out the TexPac website at www.texpac.org So, who is Texpac? Well, they are the political action committee of the TMA. On the Texpac site, you will see how they brag about how politically powerful they are:
Can it be that Texas citizens' rights have been bought by and sold to this group of people so that normal workaday folks can't hold doctors and hospitals accountable when a loved one is killed in a hospital by medical malpractice? Can it be that the stories of the "Owner's Box" in Austin are true? Can it be true that the TMA lobbyists, complete with bimbos on their arms and large cigars in their hands, sat in the gallery of the 2003 Texas House chamber and dictated how the legislators would vote on the medical liability "tort reform bill"? Can it be that the TMA really did purchase those votes from the Republican politicians led by now-disgraced leader Joe Nixon [who was later run out of town by the voters]?
Wow. That sounds cynical. And, that is a discussion for another day.
But, we can at least expose the legislators who take TLR and TMA's cash, can't we? Well, sure we can. For TLR, you can simply check out their website at www.tlrpac.com They actually brag about it. The legislators' names you find on that website have no shame, so check it out right now. And, just for fun, take a look at the folks who are behind TLR. Ask yourself, do these folks have my best interests at heart?
Next, you can go to the Texas Ethics Commission website and search for the donors at http://www.ethics.state.tx.us/main/search.htm But, you can download spreadsheets for TMA and TLR's political cash for years 2002 through May 2010 here:
TMA 2002
TMA 2003
TMA 2004
TMA 2005
TMA 2006
TMA 2007
TMA 2008
TMA 2009
TMA 2010
TLR 2002
TLR 2003
TLR 2004
TLR 2005
TLR 2006
TLR 2007
TLR 2008
TLR 2009
TLR 2010
So, judge for yourself. Is TMLT/TMA a corrupt organization or not? Did they purchase Texas citizens' rights to justice in the 2003 legislative session? Do they flagrantly violate Texas laws related to the limited powers they have? Do they violate the Texas Penal Code with impunity? Do they get away with it by lavish political contributions?
Is it time for the legislature to repeal Tex.Ins.Code art. 21.49-4 in order to disband TMLT? More on this one later....
Next Page
