[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 68 (Friday, May 14, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E845]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                REGARDING H.R. 4280, THE H.E.A.L.T.H ACT

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                            HON. MARK UDALL

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 13, 2004

  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I'm holding my nose and voting 
against H.R. 4280, which would limit medical malpractice awards. I am 
not pleased that we are voting on this bill again, since an identical 
bill is languishing over in the Senate and I doubt that by passing it 
today we will jolt the Senate into moving on the bill. I think the vote 
today has more to do with politics than with policy.
  I think we're beating a dead horse. Both sides have dug in and aren't 
willing to compromise. In the meantime, we aren't doing anything to 
reform our medical liability system and we aren't doing anything to 
make health care more affordable and accessible for Americans. Our 
system is inherently adversarial and we've continued this 
fingerpointing game and done nothing to improve patient safety and 
health care access, which is what we're really talking about here.
  I think we need a system that is non-punitive and encourages openness 
and improvement so that doctors can report medical errors without fear 
of being sued. This will help us understand medical errors and improve 
procedures and patient safety. Fewer medical errors will result in 
fewer medical malpractice suits, which in turn will help keep 
malpractice insurance rates and health care premiums down. That's why I 
voted for H.R. 663, the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act, 
which would create a voluntary medical error reporting system under 
which patient safety organizations would receive, on a confidential 
basis, and analyze information on reported errors. They would then be 
expected to develop and disseminate evidence-based information to help 
providers implement changes in practice patterns that help to prevent 
future medical errors. In addition to this legislation, I think we 
should explore ideas like alternate dispute resolution, no-fault 
systems, and medical courts.
  I also want to make it clear that I am not opposed to capping damages 
because I think it helps keep health care costs down and keeps doctors 
accessible, like in my home State of Colorado where we have caps. 
However, I think H.R. 4280 sets low and arbitrary limits on damages, 
which will hurt those at the bottom of the income scale the most. Also, 
I don't think we should be shielding large and powerful HMOs and drug 
companies from liability.
  Mr. Speaker, ultimately this issue is about health care access and 
patient safety. If we aren't going to compromise, I hope we'd start 
thinking outside the box on how to end the logjam on tort reform. I 
offer these ideas as a way to get there, because we aren't going to get 
there from where we are today.

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