Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) on Wednesday said that the Senate early next week will vote on whether to consider two bills that would cap damage awards in medical malpractice lawsuits, CQ HealthBeat reports (Reichard, CQ HealthBeat, 5/3). One bill (S 22), sponsored by Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.), would cap total noneconomic damages in malpractice lawsuits at $750,000 and would cap noneconomic damages for individual health care providers at $250,000 (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 4/28). A second bill (S 23), sponsored by Santorum, would cap noneconomic damages at similar levels in malpractice lawsuits filed against ob-gyns. According to Santorum, the bills will not pass (CQ HealthBeat, 5/3). However, the bills likely will receive at least 50 of the 60 votes required to move the legislation to the Senate floor for a vote, which would "highlight the issue and Democrats' opposition to build momentum" for the legislation and "help the GOP score political points," CongressDaily reports (CongressDaily, 5/3).

Opinion Piece
The Senate should consider a malpractice law enacted in Texas in 2003 as a model for federal legislation to "expand access to health care by increasing the number of physicians and lowering costs," former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) and John Gill, a Texas physician, write in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece. The Texas law is a "positive, pro-patient, pro-health care story" and has "taken an important first step toward creating a 21st-century health justice system that meets the needs of doctors and patients alike," they conclude (Gingrich/Gill, Wall Street Journal, 5/3).

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