Jim Sensenbrenner: “Mr. Speaker, our Nation is facing a health care crisis driven by uncontrolled litigation. Medical professional liability…”

“Mr. Speaker, our Nation is facing a health care crisis driven by uncontrolled litigation. Medical professional liability insurance rates have soared, causing major insurers to either drop coverage or to raise premiums to unaffordable levels. Doctors are being forced to abandon patients and practices or to retire early, particularly in high-risk specialties such as emergency medicine, brain surgery and obstetrics and gynecology. Women are being particularly hard hit, as are low income and rural neighborhoods. H.R. 5, the HEALTH Act, is modeled after California's highly successful health care litigation reforms enacted in 1975 and known under the acronym MICRA. California's reforms, which are included in the HEALTH Act, include a $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages, limits on the contingency fees lawyers can charge, and authorization for defendants to introduce evidence to prevent double recoveries. The HEALTH Act also includes provisions creating a fair share rule by which damages are allocated fairly in direct proportion to fault, reasonable guidelines on the award of punitive damages, and a safe harbor for punitive damages for products that meet applicable FDA safety requirements. It is important to note that nothing in the HEALTH Act limits in any way the award of economic damages from anyone responsible for harm.”