Categories | Health & Medicine Article

Will H.R. 1215 Make It?

July 11th, 2017 • Health & Medicine • 2 minute read
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Author Sara E. Teller

Will H.R. 1215 Make It?

With total health care spending skyrocketing from 7.2 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 1970 to 17.8 percent in 2015, and projections at 19.9 percent by 2025, supporters of The Protecting Access to Care Act (H.R. 1215) hope to make overall costs lower by capping malpractice payouts. H.R. 1215, which has tremendous provider support, would cap noneconomic damages in medical malpractice suits at $250,000. The Congressional Budget Office predicted the bill would also cut federal deficits by almost $50 billion over the course of the next ten years by slashing insurance premiums.

Will H.R. 1215 Make It? Image Courtesy of Neimark & Neimark

The legislation barely passed the House on June 28th with a 218-210 vote, leaving many wondering if it'll make it at Senate. President and CEO of the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living stated the bill’s passage “helps at a time when we need it the most.”  However, not everyone is happy about its victory.  Democrats don’t appreciate the bill’s attempt to replace the Affordable Care Act and some republicans also oppose the measure, stating it allows for too much power at the federal level.  “Medical malpractice has long been the practice of states and having the federal government come in and do this was seen as a big overreach,” according to Remington A. Gregg, an advocate for civil justice and consumer rights at Public Citizen.  There is also concern regarding patient protection in cases of catastrophic damage, and many consumer groups believe the bill will have a negative impact on nursing home residents.Those who oppose H.R. 1215 say that it’s unlikely the bill will make it at the Senate. Joanne Doroshow of the Center for Justice and Democracy, who calls the bill “unfair and discriminatory,” said, “It came to the Senate in a weakened state and I don't see it improving.  It passed, in our perspective, with the weakest possible vote from Republicans.” The legislation is awaiting consideration from Senate Judiciary committee.

Sources:

H.R. 1215: Protecting Access to Care Act of 2017House Passes Medical Malpractice Tort Reform BillBill to cap medical malpractice awards likely to fail, critics say
Sara E. Teller

About Sara E. Teller

Sara is a credited freelance writer, editor, contributor, and essayist, as well as a novelist and poet with nearly twenty years of experience. A seasoned publishing professional, she's worked for newspapers, magazines and book publishers in content digitization, editorial, acquisitions and intellectual property. Sara has been an invited speaker at a Careers in Publishing & Authorship event at Michigan State University and a Reading and Writing Instructor at Sylvan Learning Center. She has an MBA degree with a concentration in Marketing and an MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, graduating with a 4.2/4.0 GPA. She is also a member of Chi Sigma Iota and a 2020 recipient of the Donald D. Davis scholarship recognizing social responsibility. Sara is certified in children's book writing, HTML coding and social media marketing. Her fifth book, PTSD: Healing from the Inside Out, was released in September 2019 and is available on Amazon. You can find her others books there, too, including Narcissistic Abuse: A Survival Guide, released in December 2017.

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