Political Quotes

“I rise as the sponsor of S. 11, the ``Medical Care Injury Compensation Act of 1995.'' As the 104th Congress begins to consider targeted, market based health care reform options, we should remember that medical malpractice costs are an integral component of the high cost of medical care and health insurance. The current medical malpractice system encourages litigation and exorbitant out-of-court settlements. According to a Lewin-VHI study, direct liability costs have been growing at four times the rate of inflation. Defensive medicine is projected to add as much as $76 billion annually to national health care costs by the year 2000. Doctors' fear is reasonable when viewed in light of a study done by the Institute of Medicine which found that 40% of all doctors and 70% of all obstetrician-gynecologists will be sued during their careers. Mr. President, medical liability costs do not result in the productive use of our national health care dollars. According to a study by the Hudson Institute, of the billions spent annually on medical liability costs, 57 cents out of each dollar goes to lawyers rather than injured patients. This study concluded that medical liability costs added $450 in direct and indirect costs to each hospital admission. Nationally, this represents more than 5% of the average hospital's operating expenses. In an effort to address this problem through sensible targeted reform, I have introduced S. 11.”