A measure limiting medical malpractice suit pain and suffering awards, that passed the House Wednesday, faces an uphill battle, but insurance industry representatives are hopeful it will be the next Senate victory for advocates of litigation reform.
The legislation–known as the Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-Cost, Timely Healthcare Act, or HR 5–passed the House by a vote of 226-200.
Under the bill, non-economic "pain and suffering" damages in medical malpractice lawsuits would be limited to $250,000. The bill also would pre-empt state laws on punitive damages, allowing them only in cases with clear and convincing evidence of malicious intent.
Charles Symington, senior vice president of government affairs and federal relations for the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America, said the bill could ultimately help ensure access to health care by reducing the costs of litigation and medical malpractice insurance for doctors and hospitals.
"It puts into place commonsense legal standards that will reduce the financial burden on physicians," he said. "This ultimately will be good for consumers, who have been hit with rapidly rising costs for quality medical care. The out-of-control medical liability system has been a major component in these rising costs."
Similar legislation has been passed in the House for the last two years, but in each instance the bills failed to win enough support to even be voted on in the Senate.
The Senate version of the latest measure, S. 354, was introduced in February by Sens. John Ensign, R-Nev., and Judd Gregg, R-N.H.
Despite the past failures of such measures, Dennis Kelly, a spokesman for the American Insurance Association, said "recent history is very encouraging."
Tort reform measures have won passage in this Senate after many previous defeats. Notable among them has been a bill reforming the class action litigation system. Mr. Kelly said that the AIA remains "hopeful that the Senate will see, as the House did, that medical liability reforms are really the way to deal with these issues."
Sherman Joyce, president of the American Tort Reform Association, commended the House for passing the bill, adding, "We hope to see this same commitment to access to health care replicated in the Senate."
According to the American Medical Association, 21 states currently are facing a medical liability "crisis." Mr. Joyce said that a federal law is necessary to avoid adding any more states to that list.
"While some states have taken the initiative to tackle unfair litigation environments, unless a federal law is passed, we can expect the list of crisis states to grow, leaving patients without access to quality health care," he said.
He added that, "Even in states where no crisis currently exists, there is no guarantee that state civil justice reforms will survive in the face of opposition from personal injury lawyers."
The AMA said it is supporting the HEALTH Act and will lobby for it in the Senate. "We will be relentless in our quest for federal legislation to provide relief to the nation's physicians–so physicians can continue to provide care to our nation's patients," said Dr. William Plested, AMA president-elect.
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