Perhaps it’s expected that fuzzy thinking would go into some of the recommendations made by President Obama’s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform when reviewing the federal budget. Surprisingly, medical malpractice reform appeared in the co-chairmen’s report, with the usual ideas to increase revenues of the insurance industry but do little else. While the report hasn’t received the necessary votes to send it to Congress, it wouldn’t be surprising to see some of the ideas raised in the next Congress.
The report made several recommendations that claimed to reduce the direct costs of insurance premiums and the indirect costs of so-called defensive medicine, including modifying the collateral source rule to allow outside sources of income and insurance to be considered when making an award; modifying the statute of limitations to one to three years; replacing joint and several liability with a rule under which each party would be liable for that part of the harm that was equal to his or her negligence; creating health courts; and, perhaps most insidious, allowing safe haven rules for providers that follow best practices of care. It also noted that many members of Congress believe caps on non-economic and punitive damages should be considered.
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