LaMalfa Votes to Protect Access to Health Care

Congressional Documents & Publications

(Washington, DC) - Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) issued the following statement after the House passed H.R. 1215, the Protecting Access to Care Act. The bill lowers insurance costs for health care liability coverage, which would reduce health care costs for everyone and encourage more doctors to remain in field.

LaMalfa said: "This legislation is modeled after California's highly successful health care litigation reforms. Under current federal law, our nation's doctors are under constant fear of facing endless medical malpractice lawsuits. This causes many good and honest doctors to pay skyrocketing costs of medical professional litigation insurance or even leave the field altogether. Lowering these insurance costs will save billions of taxpayer dollars. This legislation ensures damages are allocated fairly based on actual economic losses."

H.R. 1215, the Protecting Access to Care Act will:

* Lower insurance costs for medical malpractice insurance, resulting in lower health care costs and better access to doctors.

* Prevents the use of "defensive medicine" which encourages the use of unnecessary procedures to avoid the possibility of frivolous lawsuits.

* Ensure injured plaintiffs have access to justice and the ability to recover damages.

* Include no cap on economic damages (medical expenses, lost wages, etc.) so that plaintiff can be compensated in full for actual losses.

* Implement a $250,000 cap on non-economic damages.

* Place limits on contingency fees for lawyers - ensuring the patient received their fair share of damage awards.

* Protect state laws regarding damages - only applying to goods and services provided via a federal program, subsidy, or tax benefit.

Congressman Doug LaMalfa is a lifelong farmer representing California's First Congressional District, including Butte, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou and Tehama Counties.