[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 9974]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           TEXAS TORT REFORM

  (Mr. OLSON asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, our Nation's medical liability system is 
broken. It has put limits on patient access to health care and has 
increased costs. But since 2003, my home State of Texas has been a 
leader on medical liability reform. As a result of tort reform, from 
2003 to 2009, Texas has seen an increase of roughly 60 percent in new 
physician licensure applications. And since 2003, Texas had 21,640 new 
physicians licensed. That means more doctors to treat patients--
especially in rural areas with limited access to health care. All major 
physician liability carriers in Texas have cut their rates, giving 
Texas doctors affordable premiums and allowing them to focus on quality 
of care.
  Texas is a model for tort reform for the Nation. I urge the Congress 
to adopt a similar policy to increase patient access to care and save 
our Nation billions in defensive medicine costs.

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