[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 13]
[House]
[Pages 17588-17589]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              MEDICAL LIABILITY REFORM IN DANGER IN SENATE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Boozman). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Burgess) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening with great concern 
about a recent development that occurred yesterday here on the Hill. In 
the other body, the failure to close debate on medical liability 
reform, the most important legislation that this body passed in March, 
was to address this crisis; and now that reform is in danger.
  The House passed H.R. 5 to control unsustainable medical liability 
premium increases and to preserve patient

[[Page 17589]]

access to important medical specialists. Based on a 1975 California 
law, the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act of 1975, that has held 
down premium increases in that State, H.R. 5 would place a cap on 
noneconomic damages in medical liability cases.
  This bill would not limit access to the courthouse. This bill would 
not limit damages to those who have been injured by negligent actions. 
This bill would not reward bad doctors. This bill would not protect 
HMOs.
  This bill will increase access to important specialists such as 
neurosurgeons, perinatologists, and trauma surgeons. This bill will 
return sanity to a legal system that currently resembles a Las Vegas 
gaming device.
  This past March, back in north Texas, a Dallas neurosurgeon opened 
his mail and found a 5-figure premium increase in his medical liability 
insurance. He said, enough is enough, and he left town. This placed the 
entire trauma network in the Dallas-Fort Worth area on the brink of 
crisis. Again, good doctors driven from their practice by increasing 
liability premiums brought on by the trial attorneys.
  This crisis is driving young doctors from practicing medicine or, in 
fact, it is keeping young adults from even considering medicine as a 
career, creating a potential physician deficit well into the future.
  Mr. Speaker, this Congress needs to reform this system now, or surely 
it will collapse under its own weight. I am saddened by the 
intransigence of some Members in this town to not even consider this 
issue with seriousness and foresight.
  Mr. Speaker, how could they do that? I hope that this Congress will 
confront this crisis with the seriousness that it deserves. Patients 
need relief. The country is asking us to lead. Let us do the right 
thing and send a medical liability reform bill to the President this 
year. He has already promised us that he would sign it. We should do 
nothing less.

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