Vote number 2006-115 limiting medical liability lawsuits to $250,000
on May 8, 2006 regarding bill S. 22 Medical Care Access Protection Act
Results: Cloture vote rejected, 48-42 (3/5ths required)

A "cloture motion" cuts off debate. Voting YEA indicates support for the bill as written, in this case to cap medical liability lawsuits. Voting NAY indicates opposition to the bill or a desire to amend it. This bill would "provide improved medical care by reducing the excessive burden the liability system places on the health care delivery system." It would limit medical lawsuit noneconomic damages to $250,000 from the health care provider, and no more than $500,000 from multiple health care institutions.

Proponents of the motion recommend voting YEA because:
• Many doctors have had to either stop practicing medicine due to increased insurance premiums.
• Patients are affected as well--due to rising malpractice rates, more and more patients are not able to find the medical specialists they need.
• The cost of medical malpractice insurance premiums are having wide-ranging effects. It is a national problem, and it is time for a national solution.
• I am pleased that S. 22 extends liability protections to all health care providers and institutions.
• These bills are a commonsense solution to a serious problem, and it is time for us to vote up or down on this legislation.

Opponents of the motion recommend voting NAY because:
• We have virtually no evidence that caps on economic damages will actually lower insurance rates. And in my view, these caps are not fair to victims.
• If we want to reduce malpractice insurance premiums we must address these problems as well as looking closely at the business practices of the insurance companies. What we shouldn't do is limit the recovery of victims of horrible injury to an arbitrarily low sum.
• This is obviously a complicated issue. This is the kind of issue that needs to be explored in depth in our committees so that a consensus can emerge. So I will vote no on cloture, and I hope that these bills will go through committees before we begin floor consideration of this important topic.

Categorized under Health Care

Voting Y counts for 1 points on VoteMatch question 5: More Federal Funding for Health Coverage.