The 60 Second Update with

Governor Haley Barbour

3. People often associate tort reform with the health care industry. Have you seen effects beyond that sphere?

Much of the impact of Mississippi’s 2004 tort reforms has been in health care with results like these: Medical malpractice insurance rates have fallen for four years, including a 20 percent reduction for 2009 that returns the premiums paid by Mississippi physicians for malpractice insurance to rates comparable to those paid in 2002; in addition to a reduction in rates, tort reform has opened the door for better accessibility to healthcare through an increase in the number of physicians insured by the state’s largest malpractice insurance provider.

But the impact goes beyond health care. Tort reform is a critical factor in Mississippi’s new pro-business environment. Companies like Toyota, GE Aviation, PACCAR, Federal Express, and Severstal either have already established or announced major facilities that put Mississippi in the forefront of the world’s most advanced manufacturing processes and techniques.

Even after Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005 – the worst natural disaster in American history – and before the recession hit Mississippi in the third quarter of 2008, the state had achieved record employment, according to statistics compiled by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Per capita personal income grew by 27.8 percent from the end of 2003 to the end of 2008, or more than $6,400 per person.

Much of that success can be attributed to tort reform.

 Question 4. Does tort reform impede just settlements?