Medical Liability Reform Is Necessary to Improve Access to Medical Care

(Arlington, VA) -- The National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU) applauds Representative Jim Greenwood for introducing the bipartisan HEALTH Act (H.R. 5) today that effectively strikes a balance between appropriately compensating wrongfully harmed patients with millions of Americans' access to affordable health care.

"America's health care delivery system is in crisis," stated Janet Trautwein, vice president of government affairs. "Out of control liability costs are forcing doctors to move in search of lower malpractice costs or abandon their practice entirely. This leaves millions of rural Americans with little or no access to adequate and affordable health care.

"The threat of lawsuit abuse often forces doctors to perform invasive and expensive tests in order to protect themselves. Liability is estimated to cost the country billions of dollars a year, an expense that is passed directly on to the consumer in the form of higher health insurance premiums.

"Congress must take action now to ensure that medical malpractice liability laws provide adequate compensation for those who are truly injured while reducing frivolous lawsuits and extraordinary damage awards so more Americans have access to affordable health care."

The National Association of Health Underwriters represents more than 17,000 professional health insurance agents and brokers who provide insurance for millions of Americans. NAHU is headquartered in Arlington, VA. For more information, please call Kelly Loussedes at 703-276-3835 or email kloussedes@nahu.org.

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