GOVERNMENT & MEDICINE

Tort reform for nonphysicians sparks debate

Democrats object to the bill's inclusion of damage caps for drugmakers and insurers, rather than just for physicians.

By David Glendinning, AMNews staff. Feb. 28, 2005.

Washington -- In what may signify a change in tactics for opponents of the leading medical liability reform package in Congress, some lawmakers have started emphasizing the protections that the bill would afford to nonphysicians.

The Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act of 2005 aims to use caps on damages to lower liability insurance rates for physicians and preserve patient access to care. But the bill also would limit liability for any entity providing health care products or services. Civil suits against drugmakers, insurance companies and medical device manufacturers would be subject to the same caps on noneconomic and punitive damages as suits against doctors, according to legal experts.

Noneconomic damages would be limited to $250,000, and punitive damages would be capped at twice economic damages. If the claim centers on a Food and Drug Administration-approved medical product, punitive damages would not be allowed.

HEALTH Act sponsors' refusal to focus solely on the physician side of the issue could sink the legislation, several Democratic lawmakers said at a recent House Energy and Commerce health subcommittee hearing.

"This bill won't pass if written like this," said Rep. Sherrod Brown (D, Ohio), the subcommittee's ranking Democrat. Members who might otherwise be open to debating a bill that addresses the physician problem alone have been turned off by the tactics of the measure's handlers, he suggested.

[...]

Full text of AMNews content is available to AMA members and paid subscribers.

Access details

Join the AMA