• As patients, we have a big stake in ensuring that we continue to have access to the highest quality health care system in the world.  Doctors from across the country in partnership with the American Medical Association are doing their part too.

 

• But a crisis is emerging that is jeopardizing our health care system.  Lawsuit abuse by personal injury lawyers has caused medical liability insurance rates to skyrocket, leaving doctors across the country wondering how they will make their next premium payment.

• Regrettably, this crisis has forced some very good doctors to retire early or to move to states with more affordable insurance policies.  Other doctors have stopped performing high-risk procedures, reduced their medical and administrative staffs, and postponed or canceled plans to purchase new medical equipment.

But doctors aren’t the only ones paying for this “lawsuit lottery” legal system.  You and your family are paying too, in terms of higher health insurance premiums, reduced access to medical specialists, and longer wait times for appointments, to name just a few.

Our communities are also paying a high price.  With fewer doctors and specialists performing high-risk surgeries, many hospitals have had no alternative but to close their life-saving trauma centers which treat the most seriously injured patients (e.g., people with severe injuries from car accidents).

As bad as things are, however, there is a solution within reach.  Legislation that would reform our broken liability system and safeguard your access to care is being considered by the U.S. Congress.  While the House of Representatives has already passed this sensible legislation, the Senate still needs to act.

As a member of the Patients’ Action Network you can make a difference.  Please contact your U.S. Senators and urge them to support real medical liability reform legislation.  Call 1-888-434-6200 and tell your Senators to put patients before lawyers