Senate Democrats Block Vote on Malpractice Awards Cap

Republicans fell 11 votes shy of the 60 needed to overcome the Democratic-led filibuster. The House had passed similar legislation earlier this year.

In a statement issued shortly after the Senate vote, President Bush expressed his disappointment.

“The nation’s medical liability system is badly broken, and access to quality health care for Americans is endangered by frivolous and abusive lawsuits,” he said, urging the Senate to act quickly on an issue he has championed.

Republicans argued that the bill was necessary to stop a spreading medical malpractice crisis.

“The problem is caused by out of control jury awards in frivolous lawsuits, which are cheaper to settle… than they are to fight,” said Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., the lead sponsor of the bill. “And the reason they’ll settle is because of the potential for huge awards…then pass the higher rates on to doctors.

Democrats countered that the bill would punish individuals already grievously injured by medical errors while protecting groups such as the American Medical Association, HMOs, drug companies and the manufacturers of medical devices.

“Time and time again this Senate races to protect special interest groups and forgets the families and children and elderly people across America who are the victims of this wrongdoing,” said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.

The legislation proposed putting a $250,000 limit on non-economic damages, commonly known as damages for pain and suffering. The bill would have capped punitive damages at either $250,000 or twice the amount of the economic damages — whichever figure was higher. Economic damages cover medical expenses, loss of wages, funeral expenses and similar costs.

Additionally, the measure called for limiting the amount of money attorneys could pocket if they are paid on a contingency basis for their work on a case.

Democrats said they accepted the need for legislation to address the cost of malpractice insurance, but rejected the Republican claim that the bill would curb malpractice rates.

Additionally, Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle told reporters that the proposed cap would apply more broadly than to doctors.

“Under that cap would also go HMOs, medical device manufacturers, hospitals, you name it, drug companies… This is more than just a doctor protection. This is a protection for anybody involved in health care delivery,” Senator Daschle said.

Senators Durbin and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., have co-sponsored an alternative bill that includes a voluntary reporting system for medical errors and tax credits to defray the rising cost of malpractice insurance for some doctors. But under the Senate’s rules, Democrats had to allow the GOP measure past the 60-vote hurdle before the rival plan could be considered.

The American Medical Association, American Insurers Association and the American Hospital Association all supported the measure. The Association of Trial Lawyers of America, meanwhile, worked to defeat the proposal. The American Medical Association and the Association of Trial Lawyers of America are both on The Center For Responsive Politics’ list of the top ten donors in U.S. politics.

Despite Wednesday’s defeat of the Republican-backed bill, some interest groups are already working to keep the issue in the spotlight. The American Association of Health Plans announced Wednesday they will work with state medical societies in New Hampshire and Iowa to insure that the malpractice insurance issue is on the agenda during the early Democratic presidential primaries and caucuses in 2004.