[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 41 (Thursday, March 13, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H1817]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    MEDICAL LIABILITY LIMITATION ACT

  (Ms. SOLIS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in strong opposition to the so-
called medical malpractice bill that we are going to be voting on 
today.
  I have heard from the minority physicians in my area, and they are 
quite alarmed. They are quite alarmed because their insurance premiums 
keep skyrocketing. And I am talking about the State of California, 
where we had some reforms back in 1974 through a law called MICRA, 
which was supposed to bring down the cost of malpractice lawsuits. What 
happened there was not much.
  We had also Proposition 103 that was passed to bring down insurance 
premiums. Guess what, folks? In California it helped slightly, but not 
enough.

                              {time}  1015

  In fact, in California, the rates are still 8 percent higher than 
other parts of the country. I want to call the Members' attention to 
the fact that the caps that we are going to be looking at in this 
proposal discriminate against children, seniors, and the unemployed.
  I want to call attention to the case of Jessica Santillan, a Latina 
teenager, who died last month after doctors at Duke University Hospital 
confused her blood type during an organ transplant. Under this proposed 
bill, Jessica's family would only be allowed to recover $250,000 in 
damages. That is wrong. This is no small amount that can compensate for 
the suffering of the family. I urge Members to allow Congress to vote 
on the Conyers-Dingell alternative.

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