Medical Malpractice/Tort Reform: In recent years, the number of medical malpractice suits has been growing dramatically. More Americans have become plaintiffs in major malpractice suits, often with thousands of plaintiffs for a single case. Trial results have been varied from defendants winning cases to juries awarding hundreds of millions of dollars to plaintiffs. As a result, medical liability insurance premiums are soaring to the highest rates since the mid 1980s. A bill regarding Medical Malpractice suits (HR1124) was introduced in the House of Representatives on March 6, 2003 but currently has been referred to the House Subcommittee on health. Similarly, in the Senate, bill S1374 was introduced on July 8, 2003 has been referred to the Senate Committee on Finance.

George Bush:

Description of candidate's position: President Bush views medical malpractice cases and tort reform as national problems that require a national solution. In January of 2003, the House of Representatives introduced the Common Sense Medical Malpractice Reform Act of 2003 (HR 321). President Bush supports the full passage of this act which includes capping punitive damages at $250,000, not awarding punitive damages in cases involving products approved by the Federal Food and Drug Administration, limitations on contingency fees for lawyers (the higher the return, the lower the contingency percent), priority on alternative dispute resolution before trial, examination by a qualified medical official before placing claim, and consequences for lawyers who present frivolous lawsuits.

Quotation from the candidate: "We have got a problem in America that we must deal with. And this is not only a local problem, but because lawsuits and premium increases and preventative medicine drive up the cost in Medicaid and Medicare and veterans' health benefits, medical liability is a national issue that requires a national solution. Every person with a legitimate claim deserves a day in court. Junk lawsuits make it hard to get into court. And bad doctors must be held to account… for the sake of affordable and available health care, we need a cap on non-economic damages of $250,000…This health care system needs liability reform now. No one has ever been healed by a frivolous lawsuit. This past March, the House of Representatives passed medical liability reform. The Senate has not acted. I want to sign Medicare reform into law, and I want to sign medical liability reform into law, so that we can look the American people in the eye and say, we have done our job. We saw a problem and we fixed it." June 11, 2003 from the Bush website.

Assessment of the Proposal:

Positive: Founded in 1947, The American Academy of Family Physicians is one of the largest national medical organizations representing more than 94,300 family physicians, family medicine residents and medical students nationwide. The AAFP supports President Bush due to his call to end wasteful and frivolous medical lawsuits, as well as his support of federal legislation to establish a new federal standard for medical liability trials.

Negative: The AAFP has concerns that these issues will not solve the problems of the 44 million uninsured Americans, but they are important steps in the right direction. (AAFP website).

The Medical Malpractice Attorney Resource website opposes Bush's proposal to cap punitive damages on medical malpractice suits based on findings by the Weiss report. "The Weiss report suggested that the focus on tort reform has prevented legislators and the public from examining other factors contributing to the increase in premiums, such as rising health costs and imprudent business policies of the medical malpractice insurance community. The Weiss white paper indicates that insurance companies use the caps to divert attention from long years of mismanagement that allowed marketing strategy to take precedence over actuarial prudence." (link)

Comparison: Senator Kerry advocates medical malpractice reform involving similar measures such as prioritized alternative dispute resolution, penalties for frivolous lawsuits, and examination by a qualified medical official before placing claim. He disagrees however, about capping punitive damages at $250,000. Kerry claims capping damages will not stop the rise of medical liability costs, but simply slow the process.

Sources: All sources are linked to the relevant passage.

Link to Kerry's medical malpractice issue page