Spencer Cox: “this is Cover the Uninsured Week, organized by patients, physicians and hospitals to promote access to care to all…”

“this is Cover the Uninsured Week, organized by patients, physicians and hospitals to promote access to care to all Americans. They are calling on Congress to act. We are here to answer that call. We are here today because patients are losing. They are losing their access to care. Many have already lost it. The General Accounting Office has confirmed it. In at least 10 percent of these United States, sky-high medical liability costs are preventing patients from getting emergency surgery. They are preventing expectant mothers from having access to doctors to deliver their babies. It has been 10 years since I first wrote this legislation that is now the Greenwood-Cox bill before us today. In that time, the number of medical lawsuits has risen 25 percent. The median damage award for medical lawsuits against hospitals, physicians and nurses right now is rising 43 percent per year. In some States, liability insurance premiums are rising 100 percent or more for so-called high-risk specialties, high risk because of the lawsuits, not because of the medical procedures involved, such as general surgery, 130 percent; internal medicine 130 percent; and obstetrics, OB-GYN, 165 percent. The money for these lawsuits comes directly from our health care system. Doctors and hospitals now spend more on liability insurance than they do on medical equipment. The bill before the House today will ensure that patients have access to the medical care that they need.”