Freedom From Unnecessary Litigation Act
by
Ron Paul
by Ron Paul
Before the U.S. House of Representatives on August 2, 2007
Madame Speaker, I am pleased to introduce the Freedom from Unnecessary Litigation Act. As its title suggests, this bill provides an effective means of ensuring that those harmed during medical treatment receive fair compensation while reducing the burden of costly malpractice litigation on the health care system. This bill achieves its goal by providing a tax credit for negative outcomes insurance purchased before medical treatment. The insurance will provide compensation for any negative outcomes of the medical treatment. Patients can receive this insurance without having to go through lengthy litigation and without having to give away a large portion of their award to a trial lawyer.
Relying on negative outcomes insurance instead of litigation will also reduce the costs imposed on physicians, other health care providers, and hospitals by malpractice litigation. The Freedom from Unnecessary Litigation Act also promotes effective solutions to the malpractice crisis by making malpractice awards obtained through binding, voluntary arbitration tax-free.
The malpractice crisis has contributed to the closing of a maternity ward in Philadelphia and a trauma center in Nevada. Meanwhile, earlier this year, surgeons in West Virginia walked off the job to protest increasing liability rates. These are a few of the examples of how access to quality health care is jeopardized by the epidemic of large (and medically questionable) malpractice awards, and the resulting increase in insurance rates.
As
is typical of Washington, most of the proposed solutions to the
malpractice problem involve unconstitutional usurpations of areas
best left to the states. These solutions also ignore the root cause
of the litigation crisis: the shift away from treating the doctor-patient
relationship as a contractual one to viewing it as one governed
by regulations imposed by insurance company functionaries, politicians,
government bureaucrats, and trial lawyers. There is no reason why
questions of the assessment of liability and compensation cannot
be determined by a private contractual agreement between physicians
and patients. The Freedom from Unnecessary Litigation Act is designed
to take a step toward resolving these problems through private contracts.
Using
insurance, private contracts, and binding arbitration to resolve
medical disputes benefits patients, who receive full compensation
in a timelier manner than under the current system. It also benefits
physicians and hospitals, which are relieved of the costs associated
with litigation. Since it will not cost as much to provide full
compensation to an injured patient, these bills should result in
a reduction of malpractice premiums. The Freedom from Unnecessary
Litigation Act benefits everybody except those trial lawyers who
profit from the current system. I hope all my colleagues will help
end the malpractice crises while ensuring those harmed by medical
injuries receive just compensation by cosponsoring my Freedom from
Unnecessary Litigation Act.
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new book for $20. |
August 31, 2007
Dr. Ron Paul is a Republican member of Congress from Texas.
