US Senate Kills Bush-Frist Malpractice Plan

(July 9, 2003)  The United States Senate today killed proposed legislation that would have capped non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases at $250,000. On an almost straight party line vote, 49 senators voted in favor of the legislation and 48 against. Proponents needed 60 votes to cut off debate, so they fell 11 short. Only Senator Richard Shelby (R-Ala) and Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC) crossed party lines, joining all 45 democrats present and independent Jim Jeffords (I-Vt.) in opposing the bill.

President Bush and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn) have led the push for limitations on patients’ recoveries in malpractice lawsuits. Frist, a cardiovascular surgeon and son of the founder of the nation’s largest hospital chain and fifth largest medical malpractice insurance company, and his family would benefit financially by passage of the proposed legislation. Nonetheless, he denies a conflict of interest and continues to push the legislation.

Bush and Frist now vow to raise the issue with voters in the 2004 election. Frankly, we welcome this debate. We are confident that when the issue is truly and fairly debated, the truth will come out. There is no "malpractice crisis" other than the crisis that is caused by negligent physicians, and the only "reform" that is needed is "insurance reform." Had the malpractice companies invested their profits and managed their portfolios with care during the late 1990s and early 2000s, they would not be in such a mess, and would not need to raise malpractice premiums.

Senator Graham and Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill) have proposed an alternative bill that would grant physicians tax breaks to help them pay their malpractice premiums, create a commission to study the true causes of medical liability and strip the insurance industry of its anti-trust exemption.