The Malpractice of Bill Nelson

The Malpractice of Bill Nelson

Monday, October 30, 2006

TAMPA, FL - Congresswoman Katherine Harris, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, said today that Bill Nelson is wrong to oppose desperately needed medical liability reforms and does so at great cost to the future of Florida's health care system. Following up on the discussion of the issue in the recent Senate debate, she strongly challenges Nelson's opposition to needed reforms as doctors flee our State to escape Florida's skyrocketing medical malpractice insurance premiums. With Harris' support, the House has passed legislation (H.R. 5, H.R. 4280) to address the problem, but Nelson votes time after time to stymie efforts in the Senate (S. 22, S. 23, S. 2207, S. 2061, S. 11).

Congresswoman Harris noted, "As Florida's population grows, we need more doctors, not less; yet my opponent continues to oppose measures to relieve this crisis and assist medical professionals in making certain that Florida families have access to affordable, quality health care."

Florida obstetricians face the highest premiums in the nation, according to the American Medical Association, and many surgeons in the State are limiting procedures to avoid higher rates of nearly a quarter million dollars each year. Florida hospitals have been threatened with ejection from the Medicare program over 30 times by federal health officials due to failure to properly treat emergency patients, an unavoidable problem because many high-risk doctors have shunned critical emergency room work due to exorbitant medical malpractice insurance rates.

Frivolous lawsuits are driving up the cost of health care, escalating insurance rates for Florida families and creating a serious shortage of doctors, particularly in specialties like neurosurgery and obstetrics. Bill Nelson is doing nothing to resolve this crisis for Florida, and in fact, is making the problem worse.

In the Senate, our liberal opponent has consistently voted to kill legislation that would cap non-economic damages in malpractice cases and restrain personal injury lawyers who attempt to take advantage of the system. Congresswoman Katherine Harris has voted to support caps on non-economic damages in order to bring down the costs of health care for Floridians and assist small businesses in obtaining affordable health care plans for their employees.

Katherine Harris, the Republican Candidate for the United States Senate, currently serves as the Representative for Florida's 13th Congressional District. After receiving a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, she continued a distinguished career in public service to her native state that began in the State Senate and as Florida's last elected Secretary of State. She resides in Longboat Key with her husband Anders Ebbeson and his 24-year-old daughter, Louise along with the constituents of District thirteen.

For more information visit www.electharris.org

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