Will Obama Confront Trial Lawyers On Med Mal Reform?

There was noise out of the White House today that President Barack Obama may be open to curbing medical malpractice lawsuits by offering some sort of liability shield to help get doctors on board his health care reform bandwagon. Given the fact that Democrats are so closely tied to the trial lawyers lobby, I’ll believe that when I see it.

Indeed, even if President Obama is sincere in his reported pledge to consider some liability protection to doctors who follow medical practice guidelines, as “The New York Times” reported today, I cannot imagine the Democrats in Congress seconding that motion, not with the amount of money pouring into their reelection campaigns.

And I definitely don’t see Republicans extending a friendly hand here, either, especially if the Obama health care reform plan includes the government-run policy option they have decried as a deal-breaker.