WASHINGTON — President Bush plans to call today for stringent new curbs on malpractice lawsuits against health-care providers and insurance companies, contending that limiting such litigation will lower the cost of care and increase the number of medical specialists, administration officials said Wednesday.
But while any move to impose such restrictions will please providers and insurers, it is likely to enrage many consumer groups and energize the nation's already active trial lawyers to resist such efforts.
In a speech today in Greensboro, N.C., the president will urge Congress to enact sweeping reforms of medical malpractice litigation, officials said.
The legislation that Bush will endorse is modeled largely on California's law, which critics say has inflicted further pain on patients who have already been hurt by the cost-cutting health maintenance organization system.
In advance of Bush's speech, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson released a policy paper Wednesday, saying that malpractice litigation reform would improve public access to health care, encourage efforts to improve quality of care and reduce excesses and abuses in the current system.
"California led the way for the nation by establishing statewide limits on malpractice claims 25 years ago, with bipartisan support," he said.
"We should learn from the successes of California and other states that have successfully reformed their malpractice systems."
The report squarely blames the rapidly increasing cost of malpractice insurance for an array of problems in the nation's health-care system, from the sharp inflation in overall costs to the reduction in the number of specialists.
But consumer advocacy groups denounced the drive to impose federal limits on malpractice litigation, a move that faces uncertain prospects in Congress. Opponents quickly reacted late Wednesday as word of the administration's intentions spread.
"Limiting liability for providers, who are already pressured by HMOs to cut corners and be less cautious, will turn aspects of the health-care system into an even bigger death trap," said Jamie Court, executive director of the California-based Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights.
"Californians have paid for the limited liability of providers and insurers' profitability with their health and their lives. These restrictions should be lifted in California, not imposed nationwide," he said, adding: "California is a failed model for anyone but malpractice insurers."
