House passes tort reform; Senate bill faces struggle

Physicians stress that reforms are necessary to curb the burgeoning medical liability crisis.

By Tanya Albert, AMNews staff. Oct. 14, 2002.

Physicians are thrilled that the House of Representatives in September passed tort reform legislation that would, among other things, cap noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases at $250,000.

But they realize that getting a bill to President Bush's desk this year likely won't happen because passage of a companion bill in the Senate before the new year is considered a long shot.

Representatives passed by a 217-203 vote the Help Efficient, Accessible, Low Cost, Timely Healthcare Act of 2002, a bill commonly known as the HEALTH Act. The vote was split mainly down party lines, but 15 Republicans voted against the bill and 14 Democrats voted for it.

Physicians and insurers said the bill's reforms are necessary to stop soaring medical liability insurance rates that over the past 18 months have been driving some physicians out of states where liability insurance premiums are unaffordable or insurance is unavailable. The HEALTH Act is modeled after California's tort reform -- commonly known as MICRA -- that many experts said has helped keep insurance affordable in that state.

"The record in California clearly documents the beneficial effects of common-sense medical liability reform," said AMA President-elect Donald J. Palmisano, MD. "This is an access problem for patients. We need to fix the problem. Onward to the Senate."

Physicians believe that by capping noneconomic damages, the bill would guard insurance companies from the threat of large pain and suffering jury awards, which on some occasions have reached tens of millions of dollars. That, in turn, would give companies more predictability regarding what they will have to pay out, thus helping to keep insurance rates affordable. [...]