Phil Gingrey: “I happen to know Dr. Leon Smith, Jr. He practices medicine in Athens, Georgia. I went to medical school with him. I knew…”

“I happen to know Dr. Leon Smith, Jr. He practices medicine in Athens, Georgia. I went to medical school with him. I knew him very well. Both he and his brother are OB-GYN physicians. His group, I think six or eight of them, recently stopped practicing, had to stop obstetrics and curtail their practice drastically because of this crisis. Dr. Smith was actually interviewed on ``60 Minutes'' on March 9, 2003. Here is what Leon said, Dr. Leon Smith, Jr.: ``We're giving up something I have always wanted to do because of the malpractice crisis after insurance premiums broke a million dollars.'' This is real life. This really puts a face on this problem. But as Dr. Weldon points out so vividly, it is a jobs issue because it is not just Dr. Smith and colleagues like him that have to give up their practices. It is the fact that small business men and women over the last 5, 6, 8 years are seeing double-digit increases in the amount that they have to pay for health insurance to provide to their employees. And they cannot do it. It is becoming the highest cost of them doing business. And a lot of small businesses fail.”