Jerry Nadler: “I thank the gentleman for yielding. Yes, the previous speaker is right. This shouldn't be a partisan issue, but the…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. Yes, the previous speaker is right. This shouldn't be a partisan issue, but the Republican Party in both houses has been doing its best to destroy healthcare for the American people in the last couple of months. This is just a different piece of the same plot. Bob Wise didn't always have the best judgment. This cruel legislation does exactly the opposite of what its title states. It would place an artifical and very low cap on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases, and it would lock that figure into law without adjustment for inflation, which would reduce its value almost to zero over time. By capping damages, this bill would ensure that many victims of medical malpractice will not be fairly compensated for their injuries. Many other victims may be unable even to file a case in the first place because they will be unable to retain a lawyer. That is because medical malpractice cases often require significant upfront costs, as high as $100,000 on average, and few attorneys will take a case if the cap on damages means that there will be no reasonable likelihood of recouping their costs. This bill's cap on noneconomic damages is particularly insidious because of its discriminatory effect on many women, children, and seniors. They often have little or no lost wages to calculate, and, therefore, they may recover very little in the form of economic damages.…”