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House tort reform package
disappoints 10th District lawmakers
A “tort reform” package adopted by the state House of
Representatives Monday fails to live up to its billing, according to
Reps.
Barbara Bailey
and Barry Sehlin. Despite the volume of bills –
more than 20 pieces of legislation – the 10th District lawmakers said
the package offers little to nothing for the beleaguered patients and
doctors, hospitals and others suffering under the weight of skyrocketing
insurance premiums and unfettered lawsuits.
“This tort package is a negligible response to a critical problem in our
state,” said Bailey, R-Oak Harbor, who is the ranking Republican on the
House Health Care Committee. “Families are losing access to health care
services, because doctors and emergency care providers can’t afford
escalating medical malpractice premiums. Our failure to act in a
meaningful way on this issue will prevent families from getting the care
they need. Real tort reform is vital to restoring access to affordable
health care for the citizens of Washington. It’s going take
substantially more than we’ve done here today.”
“Our tort system is an
enormous weight around the neck of our state’s economy,” said Sehlin,
R-Oak Harbor. “It affects health care, the cost of housing, and the
availability of nursing home care. These are costs that are ultimately
paid out of the pockets of every taxpayer. The proposals we adopted
today are fairly harmless. The danger is that we’ve left the impression
that we’ve done something meaningful, when in fact we’ve done very
little to address the underlying issues that make our tort system among
the most expensive in the world.”
Bailey and Sehlin said a
more meaningful approach to tort reform is contained in House Bill 3030,
a comprehensive measure introduced by House Republicans, and Senate Bill
5728, which has been adopted by the Senate. Both bills remain stalled in
the House Judiciary Committee.
Washington was recently
the target of a national ad campaign by Doctors for Medical Liability
Reform. The group sponsored full-page ads in the Wall Street Journal and
USA today last week to bring attention to the difficulty of accessing
health care in Washington and the uncompetitive economic climate that
has been created in the state by the lack of action on real tort reform.
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For more information, contact:
John
Handy, Assistant Director: (360) 786-5758
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