Jon L. Christensen: “as most members of this body know, I am a physician, and a member of physician organizations who practiced family…”

“as most members of this body know, I am a physician, and a member of physician organizations who practiced family medicine for 21 years. So, I know this issue first hand, and I am deeply troubled about patients who will be denied just compensation under the approach this bill takes--caps on damages. I am also outraged that physicians are being used as pawns in the game of political one-upmanship this bill plays with its narrow, misguided and ineffective focus and attack on trial lawyers. And we all know, because we read the same reports that H.R. 5 bill will not fix the problem. The causes of high premiums are not the result of medical malpractice lawsuits or increasing payouts. In fact, a recent report commissioned by the Center for Justice and Democracy clearly demonstrates that over the last 5 years, there has been little to no increase in malpractice payouts. Despite this, there have been humongous increases in malpractice insurance premiums. In fact, the report found that many of the leading malpractice insurers have substantially increased their premiums while decreasing their actual claims payments and reducing the amount they project to payout in the future, but significantly increasing their surplus or profits. Let me just give you a few examples from the report so everyone understands: 1. In fact, in 2004 alone, the leading medical malpractice insurers took in about three times as much in premiums as they paid out in claims. 2.…”