The battle over medical liability reform officially kicks off this week.
One day after a new Republican-controlled Congress gets to work, President Bush will fly to Illinois Wednesday to step up his efforts to convince lawmakers to cap jury awards for non-economic damages in medical lawsuits to $250,000 per case.
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Critics, however, dismiss claims that lawsuits are driving up insurance premiums and limiting access to medical care.
Joanne Doroshow, executive director of The Center for Justice & Democracy, an anti-tort reform group, said that insurance rates are a problem not because of personal injury lawsuits but because of lax state insurance regulations, including Illinois.
"You can cap damages all you want, but unless you get control over the insurance industry's own business practices you're not going to solve doctors' problems," said Doroshow.
"A lot of this is fear mongering," she said, referring to calls for litigation reform.
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