On the recordMarch 21, 2012
I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, most Americans still oppose ObamaCare yet support medical liability reform of the kind that we are considering tonight. A recent survey found that 83 percent of Americans believe that reforming the legal system needs to be part of any health care reform plan. As the Associated Press recently reported, most Americans want Congress to deal with malpractice lawsuits driving up the cost of medical care, says an Associated Press poll. Yet Democrats are reluctant to press forward on an issue that would upset a valuable political constituency--trial lawyers--even if President Barack Obama says he's open to changes. The AP poll found that support for limits on malpractice lawsuits cuts across political lines, with 58 percent of independents and 61 percent of Republicans in favor. Democrats were more divided. But still, 47 percent said they favor making it harder to sue while 37 percent are opposed. The survey was conducted by Stanford University with the nonprofit Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. In the poll, 59 percent said they thought at least half the tests doctors order are unnecessary--ordered only because of fear of lawsuits. In a poll done by the Health Coalition on Liability and Access in October, 2009, 69 percent of Americans said they wanted medical liability reform included in health care reform legislation.…
