In his State of the Union address in late January, President Obama signaled his willingness to consider medical malpractice reform as a way to bring down healthcare costs.
Late last week, the President followed up with a 2012 federal budget proposal that includes $250 million in Justice Department grants to help states rewrite their laws on medical malpractice. These grants would be awarded in consultation with the Department of Health and Human Services.
According to the Justice Department, the goal of any reform would be to fairly compensate patients who are harmed by negligence; reduce providers' insurance premiums; weed out frivolous lawsuits; improve the quality of health care; and reduce medical costs associated with “defensive medicine.”
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