Minnesota In The House Of Representatives On The Health Act Of 2002

Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to H.R. 4600, the HEALTH Act of 2002. While this legislation should address the skyrocketing costs of medical malpractice insurance it is really a huge tort reform bill that threatens to weaken patient protections. This legislation goes well beyond medical malpractice. It would not only place restrictions on the ability of individuals to receive compensation when they are injured by the negligent conduct of health care providers. But it would also include, defective medical products, tainted prescription drugs, and claims against HMO's and health insurance companies.

This legislation would preempt current state law regarding the statute of limitations for actions. During my time in the Minnesota House of Representatives, I supported legislation that lengthened the statute of limitations for medical malpractice cases to four years. H.R. 4600 would require lawsuits to be filed within three years of the date of injury or only one year after discovery. We must have a longer statute of limitations to help protect individuals who have diseases with long incubation periods.

For example, a patient who contracts HIV from mishandled blood, but does not show symptoms until three years later, could not seek remedy for this gross injustice under this new law. A patient who has a medical device implanted and years later the device fails due to a part defect, will not be able to seek remedy under this new law. These patients deserve the same protections any other individuals who have been injured by other forms of negligence.

The overly broad scope of this bill sets a dangerous new precedent. We should not prevent individuals from seeking remedy for their injuries by allowing medical manufacturers who obtain FDA approval, FDA ``pre-market approval' or ``are generally recognized as safe effective' to be exempted from liability. We should absolutely not be preempting states' HMO reform laws that have allowed patients to sue for wrongful actions.

I have heard from doctors the challenges they face over the significant increases in medical liability insurance premiums. I am concerned that additional costs make it more difficult for physicians to stay in practice, however, this legislation does not address the real problem. This bill does nothing to fix the increasing cost of insurance premiums and goes far beyond its stated purpose of reducing the costs of malpractice insurance, while compromising the health and safety of patients.