President Obama Restates Opposition To Malpractice Caps

President Barack Obama is standing by his opposition to caps on jury awards to people who successfully sue for medical malpractice. But Obama also told a town hall meeting on health policy that he is sensitive to the complaints of doctors and other health care professionals that the threat of lawsuits is harming the profession and driving up costs.

By AP
Published: July 01, 2009

» 0 Comments | Post a Comment

ANNANDALE, Va. (AP) - President Barack Obama is standing by his opposition to caps on jury awards to people who successfully sue for medical malpractice.

But Obama also told a town hall meeting on health policy that he is sensitive to the complaints of doctors and other health care professionals that the threat of lawsuits is harming the profession and driving up costs.

The president said Wednesday that the specter of lawsuits has forced many in the medical community to practice "defensive medicine," saying doctors often order up excessive tests just to
cover themselves.

Obama told his audience: "What I have said is that I don't like the idea of an artificial cap on somebody if the doctor of the hospital was really negligent."