Michael Burgess: “I am just a simple country doctor, and while the gentleman from Georgia will spend a lot of money on polling, my…”

“I am just a simple country doctor, and while the gentleman from Georgia will spend a lot of money on polling, my operation in Texas is far too small for that. But I do talk to a lot of my constituents, and the doctor is right that this is an issue understood by average, everyday Americans. They understand it very well. They understand it is limiting their access to medical care, and they want this situation fixed. The Subcommittee on Health Policy met this summer and had a hearing on medical liability reform. We wanted to bring the spotlight to what are some of the successes we can point to in this country in this arena, not just simply rehash and recover old territory but what are some of the solutions. We were fortunate to be joined by a doctor from California who was actually practicing medicine in California 1975 when the California Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act of 1975 was passed. Of course, he talked about the night-and-day difference that it made in his State as far as being able to practice medicine with the noneconomic damages capped at $250,000 and how that held down premiums and allowed doctors to continue in practice and not leave the State because they were in a crisis in 1975.”