Political Quotes

“going to the doctor for a checkup is hard enough these days between juggling family and work schedules. Few of us get all the checkups and screenings we need. Making matters worse, more and more doctors are closing their practices or limiting the services they offer. They are doing so because they cannot afford the increasing costs of medical malpractice insurance which they are required to carry. According to the American Medical Association, 19 States are in a full-blown medical liability crisis, including the home State of the occupant of the chair and mine. In Missouri, physicians' average premium increases for 2002 was 61 percent on top of increases the previous year of 22 percent. What happens? Well, 31 percent of the physicians surveyed by the Missouri State Medical Association said they were thinking about leaving their practice altogether. Almost one in three physicians in Missouri considered leaving their practice because they cannot afford the exorbitant medical malpractice insurance cost caused by the lawsuits brought--some frivolously, and many of them, I assume, against doctors. Doctors who have practiced for years in Missouri are closing their doors. But this is not just a problem for doctors. They are well educated. They can move elsewhere and resume their practice, as difficult and unfair as that is. The real damage and pain is being felt by the patients. Last summer we considered a comprehensive bill, S. 11, the Patients First Act.…”