Updates to our Terms of Use

We are updating our Terms of Use. Please carefully review the updated Terms before proceeding to our website.

Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Obama Cautiously Endorses Medical Liability Reform

WASHINGTON (CN) - President Obama has ordered the Department of Health and Human Services to begin making grants to states to explore alternative medical liability schemes.

The grant money will come from a 1999 Congressional authorization to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to support demonstration projects and to evaluate the effectiveness of projects regarding all aspects of health care.

In a memorandum to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Obama noted that although malpractice premiums are only a very small percentage of total medical costs, many doctors report fear of lawsuits leads them to practice defensive medicine, while between 44,000 and 98,000 patients die each year from medical error.

Obama stressed that medical liability reform must be just one part of broader health insurance reform that slows the growth of health care costs for families, businesses, and government.

Categories / Uncategorized

Subscribe to Closing Arguments

Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.

Loading...