[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 17 (Wednesday, February 11, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H482]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  LIABILITY REFORM MEANS HUGE SAVINGS

  (Mr. BURGESS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, we have heard a lot of discussion in the 
past couple of days about the Medicare bill that we passed at daybreak 
on November 22 of this past year, and a lot of that discussion has 
centered around the fact of was that prescription drug benefit $400 
billion over 10 years or was it $500 billion over 10 years.
  The fact of the matter remains, whether it is $40 billion or $50 
billion a year over the next 10 years, Mr. Speaker, there is an equal 
amount of money that could be saved right now, this year, in the 
Medicare program if we would simply pass the liability reform that this 
House took up over a year ago.
  Mr. Speaker, in my home State of Texas, we recently passed a 
constitutional amendment to allow the same type of caps on noneconomic 
damages in medical liability suits; and we have seen medical liability 
insurance prices fall in our State. But, more importantly, the cost of 
defensive medicine is estimated by a study out of Stanford University 
to be $50 billion a year. That is the same amount of money that the 
prescription drug benefit will cost at the higher estimate from Health 
and Human Services.
  Mr. Speaker, if Texas has passed a law we might say, why do we think 
the Nation needs a law? Just because of that reason: because of the 
cost to the Medicare system. Mr. Speaker, we could generate that 
savings tomorrow if we could urge our colleagues in the other body to 
take up that bill.

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