Senate Republicans Unable to Break Medical Liability Reform Impasse
4/7/2004
On April 7, Senate lawmakers, for the second time this year, defeated legislation that would have provided some relief to physicians from skyrocketing medical liability insurance premiums. By a vote of 49 to 48, the Senate blocked a motion to proceed, or cloture vote, which would have allowed the bill, S. 2207, the Pregnancy and Trauma Care Access Protection Act of 2004, to be debated on the Senate floor. S. 2207 would have provided liability protections, including a $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages, for emergency services and trauma and obstetrical and gynecological (ob-gyn) care. The Senate’s attempt to pass a bill, S.2601, in February that applied to ob-gyn services only also failed. The Alliance of Specialty Medicine supported S. 2207 and S. 2061 as an incremental step toward medical liability reform for all patients and all physicians.
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