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About HCLA & PPN

We are dedicated to reform of our nation’s broken medical liability system.

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Medical Liability Strides, and Setbacks
2/3/2012

An important editorial in this month’s American Medical News details the recent success medical liability reforms have had at the state level, but shows just how much more work must be done to reform a broken system that does not serve the needs of patients.

In 2011, medical liability reforms and reasonable limits on non-economic damages were upheld by courts in West Virginia and California, ensuring access to quality and affordable medical care.

Hidden Costs of Medical Lawsuit Abuse
12/23/2011

While the financial costs of our broken medical liability system are sky-high – estimated anywhere between $55 billion and $210 billion per year – the social and emotional costs on physicians and patients are not always as easy to quantify, but just as important nonetheless.

In a recent post on the New York Times blog Well, Dr. Pauline Chen provides a glimpse at how a lawsuit affects a physician, and in turn, his or her patients.

After Dr. Chen was named in a lawsuit that was eventually dropped, she began defensively practicing medicine.

Legislative Alert – New Good Samaritan Protection Bill Introduced
12/13/2011

Protect Patients Now needs your help in support of an important, bi-partisan bill introduced last week in the US House of Representatives.

Contact your Congressman today to ask him to cosponsor H.R. 3586, the Good Samaritan Health Professionals Act, to ensure patients have access to vital, on-site medical services in the wake of a natural or man-made disaster.

Promises Made, Promises Kept: Liability Reform Delivers Increased Access to Care in Texas
12/9/2011

When medical liability reform was proposed in Texas in 2002, promises were made to patients that the system would be reformed to provide greater access to quality medical care for all.

In 2002, Governor Rick Perry stated that he was committed to ending the medical liability crisis, by “reigning in abusive lawsuits, improving patient protections and reforming insurance regulations—to ensure patients have access to the best care possible.”

HCLA Issues Rapid Response in Support of Liability Reform
11/4/2011

The HCLA and other physician organizations have petitioned members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to include medical liability reforms in their final report to Congress – a notion that was opposed this month on the editorial page of the New York Times.

The editorial stated that it was “not the job” of the supercommittee to include medical liability reforms in its deficit reduction report – to which the HCLA disagreed in a response to the editor:

Legislative Alert--Support Medical Liability Reform
10/5/2011

Protect Patients Now has a crucial opportunity to include medical liability reforms in a deficit reduction package and preserve patient access to care while also achieving billions of dollars in cost savings.

The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction will meet several times within the next month to find $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction savings to be undertaken over a ten‐year period, and send their recommendations to Congress for a vote by the end of the year.

NEJM Study Reconfirms Need for Medical Liability Reform
8/31/2011

A study in this month’s New England Journal of Medicine provides the most comprehensive analysis of the risk of liability claims by medical specialty in more than two decades, and reinforces the need to put an immediate end to medical lawsuit abuse. The study reports that in any given year, an average of 7.4 percent of doctors are faced with medical liability lawsuits, but nearly 80 percent of those claims result in no payment at all by the defendant.

Health Coalition Encouraged by Inclusion of Liability Reform in “Gang of Six” Deficit Reduction Plan
7/22/2011

WASHINGTON, DC – The Health Coalition on Liability and Access was encouraged by the inclusion of medical liability reform in the deficit reduction plan released yesterday by the bipartisan “Gang of Six” in the Senate.

“The HCLA commends the Gang of Six in the Senate for recognizing the value of comprehensive medical liability reform in the ongoing debate over how to reduce our spiraling national debt,” HCLA Chair Mike Stinson said.

Liability Reform -- A Texas Triumph
6/29/2011

A new study detailing the extent to which medical liability lawsuits decreased after Texas passed sweeping reforms to its liability system reveals to patients and physicians throughout the state why they should be happy to call the Lone Star State home.

A study published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons found a nearly 80% decrease in surgical liability lawsuits at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio since reform was enacted in 2003.

New Poll Confirms Americans Want Medical Liability Reform
5/12/2011

WASHINGTON, DC – Americans overwhelmingly support meaningful medical liability reform and agree that elected representatives should make changes to our nation’s broken medical liability system, according to a new poll released today by the Health Coalition on Liability and Access.

Health Coalition Testifies on Critical Need for Liability Reform
4/6/2011

WASHINGTON, DC – The Health Coalition on Liability and Access (HCLA) testified today before the Health Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee in a hearing titled, “The Cost of the Medical Liability System Proposals for Reform, including H.R. 5, the Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act of 2011.”

Troy M. Tippett, MD, a Florida neurosurgeon representing the HCLA, emphasized to committee members that “our medical liability system is broken and it is time to protect patients now by passing H.R. 5 and passing it quickly.”

Action Alert: Medical Liability Reform Heads to Energy & Commerce Committee
3/16/2011

Medical liability reform is finally back on the legislative agenda on Capitol Hill and it's time for members of Protect Patients Now to make their voices heard.

H.R. 5, the HEALTH Act, is making its way through the maze of procedures on Capitol Hill. With your help, the bill was passed recently by the House Judiciary Committee. Next up is the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Medical Liability Reform Passed by House Judiciary Committee
3/7/2011

Earlier this month, the Judiciary Committee of the U.S House of Representatives passed H.R. 5, the HEALTH Act, by a vote of 18 to 15. This allows the bill to move on to the House Energy & Commerce Committee before reaching the floor for a vote.

The HEALTH Act is based on proven medical liability reforms already in place in states such as California and Texas and places reasonable limits on non-economic damages.

HCLA/PPN Testifies on Capitol Hill
2/7/2011

The new leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives put medical liability reform in the spotlight last week, dedicating the first hearing in the House Judiciary Committee to fixing our nation’s broken liability system. The committee invited HCLA/PPN spokesperson, Stuart L. Weinstein, MD, to testify at the hearing, titled, “Medical Liability Reform- Cutting Costs, Spurring Investment, Creating Jobs.”

The timing and focus of the hearing emphasized how seriously the House of Representatives is taking medical lawsuit abuse and the practice of defensive medicine.

Increasing Access to Care by Decreasing our National Deficit
11/30/2010

With reducing our sky-high deficit becoming a national priority, two leading bipartisan efforts have proposed comprehensive medical liability reform as part of the solution. Specifically, reasonable limits on non-economic damages have been cited as a key reform component that will reduce defensive medicine and related health care costs.