Congress In New Bid To Restrict Med-Mal Suits
By Steven Brostoff, Washington Editor
NU Online News Service, Jan. 22, 3:07 p.m. EST, Washington?In the wake of President Bush's State-of-the-Union message identifying litigation reform as a top priority, Senate Republican leaders are considering a new tactic to enact legislation restricting medical malpractice lawsuits, sources told National Underwriter.[@@]
Sources said that the medical malpractice legislation, which passed the House last year but has been tied up in the Senate because of insufficient votes to overcome a filibuster, could be scaled down in an attempt to achieve reform incrementally.
For example, these sources said, rather than broad medical malpractice litigation reform, the Senate might try to advance a reform bill targeted at emergency room physicians.
Senate leaders believe, sources said, that this type of approach that focuses on specific problem areas has a better chance of garnering the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster.
In his State-of-the-Union message, President Bush reiterated his long-standing support for malpractice litigation reform.
"To protect the doctor-patient relationship, and keep good doctors doing good work, we must eliminate wasteful and frivolous medical lawsuits," he said.
Carl Parks, senior vice president of federal government relations for the Des Plaines, Ill.-based Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, praised the president for his support of litigation reform. PCI is the organization formed by the Alliance of American Insurers and National Association of Independent Insurers merger.
"Controlling the costs of health care and litigation, which are the cost drivers for everything from auto to commercial general liability policies, will help to reduce the cost of the coverage insurers provide," he said.
David Winston, vice president of federal affairs for the Indianapolis-based National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, said he is very encouraged by the president's statement, which makes litigation reform one of the top items on his domestic policy agenda.
The medical malpractice reform legislation, H.R. 5, was approved by the House on March 13, 2003. The legislation contains a variety of reforms, including caps on non-economic and punitive damages, limits on contingency fees earned by plaintiffs' attorneys, and proportionate liability (meaning that defendants are liable only for their specific shares of responsibility for harm caused to a plaintiff).
The legislation then went to the Senate, where negotiators have been trying to reach a bipartisan compromise that would assure 60 votes.
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