Med Mal Bill Capping Noneconomic Damages Introduced In House

NU Online News Service, Jan. 25, 3:25 p.m. EST

WASHINGTON—Legislation establishing federal limits on medical liability claims has been introduced in the House.

H.R. 5, "The HEALTH Act," was introduced late Monday by Rep. Lamar Adams, R-Texas, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

Co-sponsors include Rep. Phil Gingrey, R-Ga., and Rep. David Scott, D-Ga.

According to a statement from Rep. Adams' office, the legislation is modeled after California's 30-year-old medical liability law.

It imposes a $250,000 cap on subjective noneconomic damages; collateral source rule reform allowing evidence of outside payments to be made in court; a ban on subrogation by collateral sources; a fee schedule for attorney contingency fees; and imposes periodic payments of future damages.

The legislation is tied to the House Republicans' campaign to propose alternatives to the current health care reform system.

It followed a 273-175 vote Thursday on H.R. 9, a resolution charging House committee chairmen with the responsibility to pass legislation that would "replace ObamaCare with meaningful reform to lower costs, expand access to affordable coverage and protect the doctor-patient relationship."

The bill also follows a recent House Judiciary Committee hearing on medical liability reform.

Lawrence Smarr, president of the Physician Insurers Association of America, a national trade association representing health care provider-owned and/or -operated medical professional liability insurance companies, issued a statement lauding the measure and urging its quick passage.

"The reformation of our medical liability system is critical for both patients and health care providers," Mr. Smarr said.

He added, "Not only will these reforms restore fairness and equity to our medical liability system for patients and health care providers alike, they will also result in notable savings for Americans."

But Gibson Vance, president of the American Association of Justice, which represents trial lawyers, rejected the bill as draconian.

"This bill will impose severe, one-size-fits-all caps on damages that injured patients can seek—not just when injured by medical negligence but also by defective drugs, medical devices, or abuse suffered in nursing homes," he said.

Mr. Vance said that it even extends this cap to health care providers that intentionally harm or kill patients, as well as insurance companies that refuse to pay just claims for medical bills.

"The bill is beyond extreme," he said. "Its authors should focus on real measures that will improve patient safety, not provide welfare to drug and insurance companies that stand to gain the most from this proposal," Mr. Vance said.

Story corrected and headline edited to reflect Rep. David Scott as a Democrat, not a Republican.