Bush Told of Doctor Exodus
Bradenton Herald
January 17, 2003

A Bradenton doctor told President Bush on Thursday that thousands of her fellow doctors are fleeing Florida to escape skyrocketing medical liability premiums.

Dr. Denise Baker was among eight physicians asked by the White House to meet with Bush in Scranton, Pa., to describe how the medical liability insurance crisis has affected their practices and patients.

…

[Senator John] Edwards said Thursday that Bush was "once again standing with his insider friends in the insurance industry and standing against seriously injured children and families."

"The truth is the insurance industry has done poorly in the market and is simply passing those costs on to doctors and patients," Edwards said. "Evidence from 30 years shows that the things President Bush is proposing will do nothing to reduce the premiums that doctors pay."

Edwards called for stopping frivolous lawsuits and cracking down on the small percentage of doctors responsible for the majority of malpractice cases.

Americans for Insurance Reform, a coalition of 100 consumer and public-interest groups, said the solution to rising health care costs is in changing the business practices of the insurance industry.

Tort reform legislation Bush backed last year was approved in the House but was never brought for a vote in the Democratic-led Senate.

Now the Republican Party controls both houses of Congress raising the odds Bush's tort reform package will pass.

For a copy of the complete article, contact AIR.