[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 90 (Wednesday, July 13, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: July 13, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                       MEDICAL MALPRACTICE REFORM

  (Mr. GRAMS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GRAMS. Mr. Speaker, imagine if every time consumers went to the 
doctor they had to write three checks to pay the bill, one to the 
physician, and then one to the lawyer, and one to the liability 
insurance company. Do you think consumers would tolerate this if they 
knew the costs? They certainly would not.
  If you told those same consumers that serious medical malpractice 
reform would save them $500 per hospital stay, they would wonder what 
is taking us so long to correct this problem.
  Medical malpractice reform, would bring down the costs of hospital 
stays, reduce the cost of medical liability insurance, and reduce the 
rate of defensive medicine. But, amazingly enough, there is no real 
medical malpractice reform in any of the health care reform bills 
reported by the House committees. That is why I am going to introduce 
the Medical Malpractice Fairness Act of 1994 later this week.
  In fact, former Vice President Dan Quayle has strongly endorsed this 
legislation and urged its passage this year because unlike other 
proposals before Congress, this legislation is true reform that 
Americans want, need, and demand.
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to become original 
cosponsors of the Medical Malpractice Fairness Act of 1994.

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