Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to H.R. 5, the Help Efficient, Accessible, Low Cost, Timely Health Care (HEALTH) Act. It is irresponsible to limit patients’ access to the civil justice system, particularly without any guaranteed decrease in the cost of malpractice insurance coverage. This measure contains no provision requiring insurers to lower their rates once these so-called reforms are in place. As a result, it would leave countless patients deprived of relief while failing completely to help our struggling health providers.

Like many of my colleagues, I am deeply troubled by the rising cost of malpractice insurance. Doctors across the country are being adversely affected by an increase in medical liability insurance premiums. These increases are making it more costly for physicians to practice, and rising insurance rates could eventually mean that patients no longer will have easy access to medical care. Doctors completing residencies in expensive areas are seeking better rates elsewhere, and physicians already in the market are leaving. I recognize that this is becoming a national crisis.

There is wide agreement that something must be done to ensure reasonable rates and protect access to health care. Unfortunately, the leadership has presented us with a partisan bill, identical to that which we voted on in two previous Congressional sessions. Nothing in this legislation would decrease premium costs or increase the availability of medical malpractice insurance. Instead, it would make detrimental changes to the health care liability system that would extend beyond malpractice and compromise the ability of patients and other health care consumers to hold pharmaceutical companies, HMO’s and health care and medical products providers accountable.

Once again, we are presented with a bill that the leadership claims will lower costs of medical liability insurance for doctors, but fails to address the rate-setting process followed by the insurance industry. Insurance companies benefit from a federal exemption to antitrust laws, which allows them to collectively raise premiums without fear of prosecution. A recent study of the annual statements of the 15 largest medical malpractice insurers found that insurers substantially increased their premiums while both their claims payments and projected future claims payments were decreasing. Other studies suggest that rate changes in premiums are closely tied to the fluctuations of the stock market – not the increases in claims from frivolous lawsuits.

Perhaps most troubling to me is that nothing in this bill stipulates that savings earned as a result of the “reforms” must be passed along to doctors, through a lowering of their own insurance costs. In light of the lack of transparency requirements of the insurance industry, there is no mechanism to hold them accountable to actually lower costs. I believe this must be the crux of any meaningful reform measure.

I recognize that the rapid increase in insurance premiums is having real effects on the health care industry. Not only does it drive up the cost of health care for consumers and doctors – it is having an impact on the medical professional workforce. Residents are being encouraged to enter lower-risk fields of practice and doctors are making decisions about their careers based the costs of insurance.

The Democratic motion to recommit proposes to address these issues by allowing patients to seek redress and providing assistance to physicians and hospitals in need. Specifically, this alternative would end frivolous lawsuits by requiring affidavits to be filed by qualified specialists certifying that the case is meritorious. It would also establish an independent advisory commission to explore the impact of malpractice insurance rates, particularly in areas where health care providers are lacking. These are the steps that we must take in order to adequately address this problem.

In addition to meaningful systemic reform, any responsible approach to the issues of medical malpractice insurance costs should include efforts to reduce medical errors in the first place. Reports show that there preventable medical errors that kill nearly 100,000 hospital patients a year. The utilization of electronic health records at our hospitals can go a long way in this effort. The Veteran’s Administration (VA), which relies heavily on information technology, has been the first large health system in the nation to replace paper charts with this fully electronic record. Electronic medical records and the efficient use of technology can be a significant agent for change in health care quality across all settings, reducing not only inefficiencies, but the number of medical errors as well.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose the underlying bill, support the Democratic alternative and commit to working together on reform measures that will result in significant change, benefiting doctors and consumers alike. Thank you.