On Christmas Eve the U.S. Senate passed a sweeping healthcare measure with absolutely no votes to spare. The next step is to reconcile the Senate bill with a similar measure in the U.S. House of Representatives. This “conference committee,” as it is called, is set to convene early next year.
The Debate over healthcare has highlighted major issues related to health insurance, such as medical malpractice reform.
Early on, Republicans sought to include medical malpractice reforms in the healthcare overhaul as a means of reducing costs. As it became clear Republicans would be taking a hard stance on the healthcare overhaul, Democrats were forced to make concessions. The result: bits and pieces of the healthcare bill have been crumbling away.
Although some medical malpractice language is included in the Senate Version, the provision is largely symbolic. The bill only suggests that states institute their own policies to resolve more medical malpractice disputes out of court.
Such a proposal already exists in the Massachusetts state legislature, which would require all medical-malpractice disputes to engage in non-binding mediation before working through the Massachusetts judiciary. The proposal would also provide doctors with an opportunity to apologize without incriminating themselves.
Healthcare reform legislation is designed to provide 31 million Americans with government health-care, the biggest expansion in health-care since the creation of Medicare in 1965. Such an overhaul has brought attention to medical malpractice, but at the same time has pushed it aside.
Doctors are obligated to provide their patients with non-negligent care. If you have been injured due to a doctor’s carelessness, talk to a lawyer
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