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- Apr 21, 2009
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6/15/2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/15/health/policy/15health.html?_r=1&hp
"On Capitol Hill, Democrats drafting health legislation have so far shown little appetite for tackling the liability issue. But one Republican who met with Mr. Obama in April recalled that the president said he was willing to go against his party to get medical malpractice reforms into a health bill but that he would expect Republican support for the legislation if he did so."
"But to deliver a deal with doctors, Mr. Obama would probably have to defy senior members of his party in both houses of Congress. Many Democrats oppose putting limits on medical lawsuits because they believe it is ineffective and unfair to patients.
"Senator Max Baucus of Montana, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, is expected to outline his proposal for a health care overhaul this week, and aides said liability protection for doctors is not part of the plan.
"Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader, resisted medical malpractice legislation when it was pushed by Republicans in the past. The whole premise of a medical malpractice crisis is unfounded, Mr. Reid said on the Senate floor in 2006, in a speech that quoted extensively from a book titled 'The Medical Malpractice Myth.'"
"And any effort to restrict patients legal rights to sue will face tough opposition from the American Association for Justice, which represents trial lawyers and has met with Nancy-Ann DeParle, Mr. Obamas point person for health reform, to express its concerns. Linda Lipsen, the associations chief lobbyist, said practice guidelines were established by unregulated medical societies and should not be conclusive in a court of law.
"The association may have an ally in Mr. Obamas health secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, who is a former director of the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association."
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/15/health/policy/15health.html?_r=1&hp
"On Capitol Hill, Democrats drafting health legislation have so far shown little appetite for tackling the liability issue. But one Republican who met with Mr. Obama in April recalled that the president said he was willing to go against his party to get medical malpractice reforms into a health bill but that he would expect Republican support for the legislation if he did so."
"But to deliver a deal with doctors, Mr. Obama would probably have to defy senior members of his party in both houses of Congress. Many Democrats oppose putting limits on medical lawsuits because they believe it is ineffective and unfair to patients.
"Senator Max Baucus of Montana, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, is expected to outline his proposal for a health care overhaul this week, and aides said liability protection for doctors is not part of the plan.
"Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader, resisted medical malpractice legislation when it was pushed by Republicans in the past. The whole premise of a medical malpractice crisis is unfounded, Mr. Reid said on the Senate floor in 2006, in a speech that quoted extensively from a book titled 'The Medical Malpractice Myth.'"
"And any effort to restrict patients legal rights to sue will face tough opposition from the American Association for Justice, which represents trial lawyers and has met with Nancy-Ann DeParle, Mr. Obamas point person for health reform, to express its concerns. Linda Lipsen, the associations chief lobbyist, said practice guidelines were established by unregulated medical societies and should not be conclusive in a court of law.
"The association may have an ally in Mr. Obamas health secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, who is a former director of the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association."
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