|
|
|
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist Calls for the Creation of Special Health Courts July 19, 2004 U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has called for the creation of special health courts. In a wide-ranging speech on health policy delivered last Monday, July 12, at the National Press Club, Sen. Frist urged the federal government, among other things, to "set up an expert medical court system with transparent decisions, limits on punitive damages, and scheduled compensatory damages to provide rapid relief to truly injured patients (instead of trial lawyers) and hold negligent doctors accountable."
The concept of special health courts is one that Common Good has advanced in a series of forums held jointly with The Brookings Institution and the American Enterprise Institute. Common Good has also championed the concept in op-eds written by Philip Howard, Chair of Common Good, and Dr. Troyen A. Brennan, a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, which were printed in such major publications as Time magazine, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post, among others. (Click here to read "Heal the Law, then Health Care," an op-ed discussing why we need a special health court by CG Chair Philip K. Howard and Troyen Brennan, a patient safety expert.) It is the centerpiece of Common Good's advocacy of healthcare reform that addresses the fundamental distrust, and resulting fear of litigation, that has corroded medical justice in America.
"Senator Frist's support for expert medical courts is a major step forward for our effort to establish these courts and restore justice in health care," said Philip K. Howard. "The current system is unfair to both patients and doctors. America needs a system of justice that is reliable for doctors and patients alike."
"Senator Frist's endorsement of an alternative compensation method could be a breakthrough in the effort to bring about better compensation for the injured and proper incentives for greater safety," stated Dr. Troyen A. Brennan.
Sen. Frist's position is in step with the American people. A recent national survey, conducted by Harris Interactive for Common Good, found that 62 percent of American adults favor having medical malpractice lawsuits tried in special health courts.
Special health courts would offer judges, dedicated full-time to addressing issues of medical justice, whose rulings would set standards for healthcare that would replace the random jury decisions that vary wildly from one case to the next. Special courts already exist in such areas of law as taxes, workers' compensation, and vaccine liability.
Click here to read a summary of Senate Majority Leader Frist's health care proposals--including the special health court--announced on July 12, 2004, at the National Press Club.
| |
