Government
Legal reform high on Bush's list
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Jan. 17, 2005
At a two-day economic summit in December 2004, President Bush reiterated that legal reform is still at the top of his agenda, saying he wants Congress to pass meaningful medical liability reform in 2005.
"I looked at the impact of the defensive practice of medicine, at the unnecessary tests that doctors prescribe in order to make a defense when they get sued -- not if they get sued, but when," Bush said. "The odds are they'll be sued. And it costs the federal budget about $27 billion a year. ... We need medical liability reform. This is a vital issue for the quality of life of thousands of people in our country."
Bush has been a supporter of the AMA's push for a federal $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages in medical liability lawsuits. The House twice has passed a bill, but filibusters in the Senate have blocked the bill from going to the president's desk.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2005/01/17/gvbf0117.htm.
