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Improve Health Care Affordability, Access, Quality And Choice

Floor Speech

Date: Oct. 15, 2009
Location: Washington, D.C.
Issues: Health and Health Care

Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, we must improve health care affordability, access, quality and choice. We must not, however, pass a sweeping government takeover of health care.

We should just fix what is broken. Medical liability and defensive medicine costs are broken.

Mr. Speaker, we need tort reform. The economic and professional consequences of medical liability lawsuits are driving the practice of defensive medicine.

Here are the facts: medical liability premiums in the United States have reached $26 billion a year. The average award is $4.7 million. More than 93 percent of Pennsylvania physicians reported engaging in defensive medicine.

I have cosponsored H.R. 3400, the Empowering Patients First Act, that provides tort reform. There will be no limit to actual economic damages to the patient. There would be a limitation on punitive damages, and they would be determined by a special health care panel that would have judges with health care expertise.

I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3400 for a first step towards real health care reform.


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