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.

President Obama is scheduled to address the American Medical Association today, and the "Times" reports that he might use the carrot of malpractice reform as a "credibility builder" and "bargaining chip" to gain concessions from doctors and Republicans on his health care reform initiative.

Some sort of medical malpractice component should be part of any comprehensive health care reform plan if Washington is serious about cutting medical costs. Removing the strong incentive for doctors to practice defensive medicine--ordering every test possible to protect themselves against negligence lawsuits--is a key step.

But don't hold your breath. Indeed, the "Times" reported that "on Capitol Hill, Democrats drafting health legislation have so far shown little appetite for tackling the liability issue." That is no surprise.

However, President Obama does have a track record in this area. The "Times" recalled that back in 2005, he joined Hillary Clinton, then New York's junior senator, "in proposing legislation aimed at reducing both medical errors and lawsuits through a program known as Sorry Works, rooted in the idea that injured patients value an apology as much as money. Their bill encouraged doctors and hospitals to investigate errors and apologize for mistakes, to facilitate what Mr. Obama described as 'a reasonable settlement that keeps the case out of court.'"

President Obama would have quite an obstacle to overcome in the form of his own party's Senate majority leader, Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, who has resisted reform efforts by Republicans in the past, and who declared on the Senate floor in 2006 that "the whole premise of a medical malpractice 'crisis' is unfounded." 

My guess is that no significant medical malpractice changes will be included in the final health care reform package. And that would be a shame, since this is probably the best opportunity in years to address the failures in the current system while protecting the legitimate legal rights of injured patients.

What do you folks think?