The White House has outlined President Bush's framework for making health care more affordable by stopping the sky-rocketing costs associated with frivolous medical liability lawsuits.
According to White House analysts, the costs of litigation per person in the United States are far higher than in any other major industrialized nation in the world. Lawsuit costs have risen substantially over the past several decades, and a significant part of the costs from lawsuits goes to paying lawyers' fees and transaction costs -- not to the injured parties.
Frivolous lawsuits and excessive jury awards are driving many health care providers out of communities and forcing doctors to practice overly defensive medicine. This reduces access to medically necessary services and raises the costs of health care for all. "In 2003, almost half of all American hospitals lost physicians or reduced services because of medical liability concerns," said President Bush in a press conference.
The President also stressed the need for class action lawsuit reform and asbestos litigation reform, and he urged Congress to enact proposed reforms. Class action lawsuits are an important part of the U.S. legal system. However, when the ability to bring a class action lawsuit is abused, it truly harms injured parties and undermines the American judicial system. The growing problem of asbestos litigation is similarly hurting workers, bankrupting businesses, and delaying relief for the truly sick claimants, according to the White House.
The framework for addressing the medical liability crisis, as explained by the White House, includes:
"What's happening all across this country is that lawyers are filing baseless suits against hospitals and doctors, and they're doing it for a simple reason. They know the medical liability system is tilted in their favor," said President Bush. "It's a system that's just not fair. It's costly for the doctors; it's costly for small businesses; it's costly for hospitals; it is really costly for patients."
