Kay Granger: “Today in my district, doctors are being forced out of practice because of the skyrocketing cost of medical malpractice…”

“Today in my district, doctors are being forced out of practice because of the skyrocketing cost of medical malpractice insurance. In fact, a very close friend of mine who is a practicing physician in Fort Worth, doctor Susan Blue, has recently been notified that her insurance carrier will terminate her policy on December first of this year. Since 1990, doctor Blue has had nine malpractice claims filed against her. However, most of the claims were frivolous and without merit, and her insurance company only paid out on one of these claims. And in that instance, $5,000 was paid to simply avoid spending tens of thousands of dollars in defense. Unfortunately, because doctor Blue has been unable to find malpractice insurance, she may be forced to retire in December--after 29 years of practicing quality medicine. I wish I could say that doctor Blue's story is an isolated incident. But we all know it's not. Every Member of Congress here today has a doctor Blue in their district.”