WASHINGTON (AP) —Putting his own stamp on a long-standing Republican priority,President Barack Obama is launching a drive to overhaul statemedical malpractice laws and cut down on wasteful tests doctorsperform because they fear lawsuits.

Obama's budget calls for $250 million in Justice Departmentgrants to help states rewrite their malpractice laws in line withrecommendations that his bipartisan debt reduction commissionissued last year.

"I think the president is very serious about following up onthis," Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius toldthe Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday. Her agency would advisethe Justice Department on awarding the grants.

Specific reforms the money could be used for exclude caps onjury awards that the American Medical Association and GOP lawmakershave pursued for years without success. But they do includemeasures unacceptable to trial lawyers, an interest group thatcontributes heavily to Democratic candidates.

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Topping the list of ideas in an Obama administration summary ofthe proposal are health courts. Specially trained judges — notjuries — would decide malpractice cases, awarding compensation froma set schedule. Plaintiffs' lawyers say that would undermine theconstitutional right to trial by jury. But proponents say it wouldbring predictability, resulting in lowermalpractice insurance rates for doctors.

"Health courts offer much more protection for fearful physiciansthan caps because you are unlikely to get a crazy verdict when youhave an expert judge," said lawyer Philip Howard, founder of CommonGood, a nonprofit group that advocates for changes in the legalsystem. The money Obama seeks could go far, he added, estimating itwould cost $5 million to $7 million for a midsize state to set uphealth courts.

Speaking for trial lawyers, Gibson Vance, president of theAmerican Association for Justice, called the idea "bad policy andbad for patients."

Obama's proposal also got a cool reception Tuesday fromcongressional Republicans, who feel he has a record of promisingmore on malpractice than he delivers. Obama first indicated aninterest in the issue during the marathon debate over his healthcare law. But all that actually wound up in the law was $25 millionin grants to study the problem and potential solutions.

It's different this time, administration officials said. The newproposal calls for ten times more money, and the grants would beused to change laws, not conduct more studies. Nonetheless, HouseRepublicans are moving ahead with legislation to impose caps onjury awards.

The cost of defensive medicine is difficult to estimate, butconservative estimates start at around $50 billion a year. Obama'sdebt commission estimated its recommendations could save government programs $17 billion through 2020,calling for an aggressive effort to rewrite malpractice laws.Obama's budget, however, does not claim any savings from the newproposal.

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Other malpractice reforms that could be funded under Obama'sgrant proposal include:

• Creating a legal defense for doctors, hospitals and otherproviders who follow guidelines for best clinical practices and useelectronic medical records. So-called "safe harbor" laws establishthe presumption that by adhering to high standards, doctors are notbehaving in a negligent manner.
• Programs that require hospitals and doctors to disclosemistakes early, offer an apology and compensation, and also agreeto make changes to protect other patients from being harmed in thesame way. If the patient's family still wants to go to court, theprovider's apology could not be used as evidence of liability. Suchprograms have been shown to reduce litigation.
• Changing legal rules that result in higher malpractice awards.For example, instead of holding all the providers involved in acase to be equally liable, a "fair share" rule would allocatemalpractice payments in proportion to responsibility for thedamages.

The Justice Department would consult with the Health and HumanServices department in awarding the grants.