Medical Malpractice Bill Fails In Senate

By Steven Brostoff, Washington Editor

NU Online News Service, April 7, 4:28p.m. EDT?Medical malpractice reform legislation has failedagain in the Senate.[@@]

S. 2207, a bill which would have capped non-economic andpunitive damages in cases involving obstetrical/gynecologicalservices and emergency room and trauma care services could notmuster the 60 votes needed today to invoke cloture, which wouldhave prevented a filibuster of the controversial measure.

The final vote on the cloture petition was 49-48. S. 2207 willnow likely be removed from the Senate's calendar.

This is the second time that the Senate has tried to enactmedical malpractice reform by focusing legislation on specialtiesthat have been particularly hard hit by malpractice insurancepremium increases.

An earlier bill designed for ob/gyn services also failed tomuster the 60 votes needed for cloture.

Anne Sittmann, a representative of the Des Plaines, Ill.-basedProperty Casualty Insurers Association of America, praised SenateMajority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., for continuing to make medicalliability reform a priority.

"The cloture vote today means the need for broad-based medicalliability reform cannot even be debated on the floor of the U.S.Senate," Ms. Sittmann said.

She said that PCI will continue working with its coalitionpartners to educate the general public about the access-to-carecrisis facing the United States. In addition, Ms. Sittmann said,PCI and its coalition partners will work harder to convinceSenators to stop blocking liability reform.