Washington, D.C. – U.S. Congressman John D. Dingell (D-MI15) issued the following statement today at the House Energy and Commerce Committee mark-up of H.R. 5, Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act of 2011:
“Mr. Chairman, today’s mark-up feels like déjà vu. The House has considered the H.R. 5, or a nearly identical version of H.R. 5, four other times. In the 109th, 108th and 107th Congresses this legislation passed the House, but was never taken up by the Senate. I do not often have kind words for my friends in the Senate, but I am pleased that they had the wisdom not to take this bill up. I am sure all of my colleagues here in this Committee would agree that medical malpractice reform should be a part of a broader discussion on our health system. But I would ask my colleagues why we are continuing to waste our time on a piece of legislation that has no future?
“I happen to believe we need medical malpractice reform, but H.R. 5 is a deeply flawed attempt at medical malpractice reform. It provides special protections to drug and medical device companies, broadly preempts state laws designed to protect consumers and patients, limits the time period under which an injured patients can file a claim, and caps non-economic damages to $250,000. If my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are serious about wanting to reform medical malpractice liability then we must find a third way solution. Such discussion is badly needed.
“I standby, waiting for my colleagues to engage with me, or any Democrat, in a serious discussion on medical malpractice. I am anxious to work on this issue with my Republican colleagues. When we worked on health insurance reform in the last Congress, I advocated for the inclusion of medical malpractice reform in the legislation. We took some small steps forward on that front. The Affordable Care Act authorized $50 million for grants to States to develop and implement alternatives to the current tort litigation system and currently the States and academia are working with the Department of Health and Human Service’s Patient Safety and Medical Liability initiative to research and test models for patient safety and medical liability reform.
“If my Republican colleagues are serious about addressing medical malpractice reform, here I sit, ready to work with them. In the meantime, as my Republican colleagues instead go it alone, I urge my colleagues to vote against H.R. 5’s flawed attempt at reform. Instead, let us move forward in a bipartisan manner towards careful, balanced and targeted legislation that will serve the interests of both physicians and their patients, not medical malpractice insurance companies.”
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