Healthy Mothers and Healthy Babies Access to Care Act of 2003-Motion to Proceed

HEALTHY MOTHERS AND HEALTHY BABIES ACCESS TO CARE ACT OF 2003-MOTION TO PROCEED

Mr. BUNNING. Madam President, today I rise to spend a few minutes talking about the need for medical malpractice reform in my State, along with the bill before us, S. 2061, the Healthy Mothers and Healthy Babies Access to Care Act.

First, I commend the Senate leadership for bringing up this bill for consideration this week. It sends a signal to the American people that this is a high health care priority this year and that we have not given up the fight for real reform. As a father of 9 and a grandfather of 35, I believe there are very few things more important than providing mothers with the safest and healthiest environment to deliver their children.

Unfortunately, because of the medical liability crisis in Kentucky, the health and safety of both mothers and their babies are being jeopardized. Personally, I believe the most effective approach to medical liability insurance reform is a comprehensive approach covering all health care providers.

I hear all the time from doctors and hospitals across Kentucky about how they struggle to pay their skyrocketing premiums. Last May, the Joint Economic Committee found that total premiums for medical liability insurance doubled from 1992 to 2001, to reach $21 billion. I know hospitals and doctors are struggling under these increases. Last year, we had an opportunity to pass a comprehensive reform bill. Unfortunately, our opponents did not even give us a chance to fully consider the bill or have an up-or-down vote on it. Today we are attempting to fix the problem for just one of the specialities that has been the most severely affected by the increase in malpractice insurance premiums. Those are the OB/GYN doctors.

Specifically, this bill would improve access to care for pregnant women by placing some reasonable limits on lawsuits against their health care provider. The bill provides unlimited awards for economic damages and places a $250,000 cap on damages for pain and suffering.

The bill also ensures that health care providers will only be liable for their share of any damages in a lawsuit brought against an OB/GYN doctor, along with limited attorney's fees.

All of these are steps in the right direction and the right thing to do. I urge my colleagues to vote for cloture tomorrow. The liability system we have now is badly flawed and broken and must be fixed. It encourages lawsuits and defensive medicine and forces doctors to become more worried about going to court than properly caring for their patients. This, in turn, leads to higher insurance premiums and gaps in care. Under our current liability system everyone loses, doctors and patients-everyone, that is, except the personal injury lawyers.

It is obvious people are beginning to understand the impact that soaring medical malpractice premiums are having on their communities. In fact, a recent poll showed that 68 percent of Kentuckians support putting limits on medical malpractice
awards. That is right, 68 percent of Kentuckians. That is an overwhelming number of Kentuckians supporting reform.

I hear all of the time about how premiums rise, squeezing physicians financially, and affecting Kentuckians' access to quality health care. Last year, the American Medical Association added Kentucky to its list of crisis States. This means the current liability system is seriously eroding patient care. In Kentucky, physicians are choosing to close their offices or retire early. Others are packing up and moving to other States with more sensible insurance regulations.

A study conducted by the Kentucky Medical Association shows that over a 3-year period, Kentucky had a net loss of 819 physicians. According to the study, over 1,200 physicians moved out of the State to more friendly communities, and 281 retired. Even worse, we are losing young doctors. In that time, 500 residents packed their bags and left Kentucky. That means 58 percent of the residents who trained in the State moved elsewhere to practice. My State cannot continue to bleed physicians like this. It takes a toll on our communities and our patients.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists also conducted a survey back in 2002 and found that 71 percent of the Kentucky physicians who responded to their survey have actually changed their practice-changed their practice from what they did because of the medical liability reform crisis that we are having. In my book that is completely unacceptable.

They also estimate that 3,240 pregnant women in Kentucky are without OB/GYN care. If that is not a crisis, I don't know what is.

The medical liability crisis not only affects physicians in private practice, it affects our hospitals as well. Last year, two hospitals in eastern Kentucky-Our Lady of Bellfonte Hospital in Russell and the Knox County Hospital in Barbourville-both completely stopped delivering babies. This puts mothers in rural areas at a much greater risk of complications. No expectant mother should have to drive past the hospital she has trusted for years to find one that will deliver her child. It doesn't make any sense. It just is not common sense.

While the liability crisis clearly must be addressed for the entire country, individual States are trying to pass legislation to help the doctors within their own borders. I commend them for this effort. In Kentucky, the State senate recently passed a bill by a vote of 23 to 14 that would allow Kentuckians to vote whether they want to amend the State constitution to allow for medical malpractice reform. Now it is up to the Kentucky House of Representatives to pass similar legislation. I believe the general assembly should pass a constitutional referendum and let Kentuckians vote on this issue since the crisis is threatening their access to care and ultimately costing them more in health care costs.

I have consistently supported medical malpractice reform since I came to this Congress in 1986, and I will support S. 2061 this week. It is the right thing to do, and it is the right thing to do for my State.

It is important that my colleagues take a stand and decide if they are with the mothers and children or if they are with the personal injury lawyers. Personally, I will be supporting the mothers and children in my State.

I yield the floor.