Recent News
Lobby Battle Over Loans for Lawsuits
WASHINGTON — Companies that advance money to plaintiffs involved in personal injury lawsuits are campaigning in state capitals for legislation making clear that their growing industry is not subject to usury limits on interest rates or other state laws that protect...
Medical liability reform: The time for action is now
A message to all physicians from Ardis Dee Hoven, MD, chair of the AMA Board of Trustees. In the past few weeks, a lot of people in Washington have been talking about medical liability issues. This is a good thing, and I hope it means we are about to see significant...
House endorses bill giving sweeping protection to medical providers against malpractice lawsuit
HELENA — A bill creating sweeping protections for physicians and other medical providers against malpractice lawsuits won endorsement Tuesday from the Montana House. On a mostly party-line vote with Republicans in favor, the House voted 65-35 for House Bill 405, which...
Texas expands medical liability protections for state-employed doctors
Texas doctors employed by the state have gained an extra layer of protection against medical liability lawsuits after a recent decision by the Supreme Court of Texas. The majority of justices ruled that plaintiffs must sue the government entity where an alleged...
Obama, GOP should avoid a standoff on malpractice reform
PRESIDENT OBAMA announced in his State of the Union speech that he would deal with Republicans on one of their pet issues, reform of medical malpractice. But nothing is likely to get done because congressional Democrats oppose the GOP’s trademark solution to high...
Is malpractice reform good for patients?
The medical malpractice reform bill Sens. Harry Brown, Tom Apodaca and I have introduced in the state Senate will drive down your health care costs and lure some of the country's brightest doctors to North Carolina. It will give doctors a desperately needed safeguard...
Study: Doctors order tests out of fear of lawsuits
SAN DIEGO (AP) — CT scans, MRIs and other pricey imaging tests are often more for the doctor's benefit than the patient's, new research confirms. Roughly one-fifth of tests that bone and joint specialists order are because a doctor fears being sued, not because the...
Gingrey, Smith, Scott Call on President to Support Medical Liability Reform
Washington - Senior Health Subcommittee Member Phil Gingrey, M.D. (R-Ga.), House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas), and Congressman David Scott (D-Ga.) today introduced The HEALTH Act (H.R. 5), a bill that includes meaningful medical liability reforms...
GOP introduces medical liability bill to complement healthcare efforts
Key House Republicans last night introduced the HEALTH Act, which aims to lower the cost of healthcare through medical liability reform. The bill is designated as H.R. 5, which indicates it is a high priority for House Republicans. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Phil...
Medical liability premiums steady, but big extremes remain
An annual survey shows caps in some states helped keep rates down, but a higher percentage of premiums rose in 2010 than in 2009. Physicians paid about the same for medical liability insurance premiums in 2010 as in 2009, with 67% of rates remaining stable across the...