US malpractice bill to change drugs, penalties
Last Updated: 2006-04-28 13:23:59 -0400 (Reuters Health)
By Joanne Kenen
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate, seeking to break a prolonged stalemate on medical malpractice, next month plans to debate a revised bill that raises the caps on awards and drops legal protections for drugs and medical devices, lawmakers said on Thursday.
Senate Republicans had hoped to consider malpractice and insurance for small businesses during the first week of May, but Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee said it would be put off a few weeks. The Senate is currently tied up on a war spending bill.
Mostly Republican lawmakers have been trying to limit damages for pain and suffering in malpractice cases for years. Bills capping these damages at $250,000 have repeatedly passed the U.S. House of Representatives but stalled in the Senate.
A revamped bill -- with a cap of $750,000 for pain and suffering -- is still likely to face stiff opposition.
Sen. John Ensign, a Nevada Republican, who described the bill to reporters, said that no single doctor, hospital or other health provider would have to pay more than $250,000 under the measure but someone bringing suit could get a total of $750,000 for pain and suffering. People could still recover for economic damages such as lost wages or medical bills. Punitive damages would be limited.
The new version, not yet introduced, would omit controversial liability limits for drug and medical device makers included in earlier bills, Ensign said.
The bill's backers say it would discourage frivolous lawsuits and contain rising medical costs but critics say arbitrary limits may help insurers' bottom line but will not necessarily help doctors or patients.
The Senate will also debate a measure by Wyoming Republican Mike Enzi that would allow small businesses to pool together across state lines to purchase insurance.
The idea, strongly backed by such groups as the National Federation of Independent Business, is to let them have the same clout in the marketplace as big corporations. Millions of people who work for small businesses are uninsured.
But the Enzi bill exempts those health plans from many state rules and regulations. The AARP retirees group, the American Diabetes Association, and the American Cancer Society, among others, are pushing hard to stop the Enzi bill, saying it could erase 20 years of progress in health coverage by eroding benefits.
