Jerry Nadler: “the Republicans have demonstrated that they either do not have a plan to fix the problem of the uninsured, or they…”

“the Republicans have demonstrated that they either do not have a plan to fix the problem of the uninsured, or they simply do not care. Instead, they drag out the same tired giveaways to insurance companies year after year while trampling on the rights of consumers and patients. This bill is a perfect example. It does nothing to address the real causes of rising malpractice rates, but instead protects insurance companies from their own poor business practices. It protects the pharmaceutical companies. It protects the manufacturers of medical devices. It protects everyone except the victims of medical malpractice. We are told the bill is necessary to drive down insurance rates because juries are awarding too much money to plaintiffs. But the fact is lawsuits account for less than 2 percent of health care costs, as they always have, according to CBO. The average jury award has hardly increased at all in the last decade. In the last year, claims payments have decreased, gone down, by 9 percent, according to HHS, yet insurance premiums continue to rise. So where is the crisis? Not in huge runaway juries and not in exorbitant awards. Yet we have here a spectacular assault on the rights of consumers and patients. A cap on noneconomic damages of $250,000 might have been reasonable in 1975 when it was first imposed in California, but today, and with increasing inflation, it is worth less and less.…”