Georgia serves as a model for national tort reform
Georgia serves as a model for national tort reform
Phil Gingrey
Across Georgia, expecting mothers can sleep a little easier tonight. So can those in need of specialized care, and residents needing access to emergency treatment.
They can all thank the Georgia Senate. The legislative body passed SB 3 this week, a bill to reduce frivolous medical malpractice lawsuits. If the bill passes the House - which it's expected to do - Georgians will have more access to better healthcare, and that benefits everyone in our state.
As a physician for nearly 30 years, this I understand the importance of tort reform. I've seen some of Georgia's best physicians hang up their stethoscopes because of the high cost of frivolous lawsuits. I've seen hospitals struggle and close because of the rising cost of malpractice insurance. And there are hidden costs to our out-of-control tort system, too. Doctors must order additional tests, and patients make unnecessary office visits. These extra costs are passed on to patients, making healthcare more expensive for everyone.
Medical malpractice reform can change this. SB 3 will help lower the cost of healthcare and ensure communities have access to hospitals, surgeons, and obstetricians.
I hope our federal government takes a page from the Georgia legislature's playbook. To provide Americans with quality, affordable healthcare, we need to limit excessive non-economic damages and frivolous suits that tangle up our judicial system and raise healthcare costs for patients. SB 3 is a gigantic step in the right direction.
My colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives and I have passed meaningful tort reform legislation the last two years, only to see our efforts stall in the U.S. Senate. This year, we'll make it a priority again.
I hope that Senators from both sides of the aisle will finally come together behind malpractice reform. Partisan squabbling gets us nowhere - if Congress doesn't act now, things are only going to get worse. The cost of litigation per person in America is currently higher than any other major industrialized nation in the world. Georgia's legislature is addressing this problem - we in the U.S. Congress must do the same.
I congratulate the Georgia Senate under the leadership of Senate Judiciary Chairman Preston Smith for taking this important step toward a better tort system. Our state is leading the way on malpractice reform, and I hope the rest of the country will follow in Georgia's footsteps.
http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/ga11_gingrey/GA_tort_1_4_05.html