In a 5-page story, ABC News on its Web site reported, “As the national health care debate continues into the fall, malpractice reform is expected to come to the forefront. But the question remains as to whether malpractice reform really works — and who benefits the most. A recent study by Americans for Insurance Reform, a national coalition of public interest organizations that support effective insurance industry reforms, suggests that limiting the liability of negligent doctors and unsafe hospitals is unjustified and would have almost no impact on lowering overall health care expenditures in the United States.” But Lawrence Smarr, “president of the Physician Insurers Association of America and a major proponent of malpractice reform, cited significant concerns and bias with the study,” arguing, “The AIR is primarily funded and sponsored by the trial bar.” The question “still remains as to whether malpractice reforms will make it into a Senate bill in the fall.” The story focuses on damage caps in Nevada, which have restricted the ability of patients infected with hepatitis to sue a clinic for unsafe injection practices.
From the American Association for Justice news release.
