Michael Burgess: “we have heard several times about how the embedded costs of the medical justice system, medical liability, negatively…”

“we have heard several times about how the embedded costs of the medical justice system, medical liability, negatively impact the medical system in this country. In fact, I think on Fox News over the weekend they had a rather dramatic piece on how the cost of soaring premiums has driven some doctors out of practice. But make no mistake about it. While it may affect the doctors' livelihood, it ultimately affects access for patients. In my district, that has meant perinatologists, specialists who deal in high-risk obstetrics, who have closed their shops; neurosurgeons who have left town; trauma centers that have been put at risk. Traveling to Nome, Alaska last summer, I was told by a group of doctors there that they could not afford the liability premiums for an anesthesiologist in the town of Nome, Alaska. When their obstetricians have a complicated pregnancy, they have to put that woman on a plane and send her to Anchorage. I fail to see how that furthers patient safety.”