Senators express hope for a health reform bill
Washington Post, DC - Dec 2, 2009
...GOP lawmakers also are expected to propose significant changes to medical malpractice laws...

Malpractice system turmoil
Times Union, Albany, NY - Dec 2, 2009
...Several task forces have been convened to address the rising premiums, but they failed to find a resolution because of friction between the medical community and trial lawyers. The Legislature froze premiums for the past few years to protect doctors...

Editorial: House bill punishes states with capped medical lawsuit costs
The Detriot News, MI - Dec 2, 2009
...The bill passed by the U.S. House is worse. It punishes those states, such as Michigan, that have adopted caps on "pain and suffering damages" and limit attorneys' fees in malpractice cases...

Editorial: Limits needed on malpractice lawsuit awards
The Messenger, Fort Dodge, IA - Dec 2, 2009
...Malpractice reform preserves the rights of patients who have suffered from health care mistakes, while limiting the outrageously high awards that add noticeably to health care costs. The only reason many liberal lawmakers oppose such limits is their concern about offending deep-pockets contributors.

State revenue continues to lag behind projections
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA - Dec 1, 2009
...The previous fiscal year ended June 30 with a whopping $3.25 billion deficit, forcing the Legislature and Mr. Rendell to reduce spending by cutting many programs, closing some historic sites, laying off more than 700 state workers and wiping out some one-time revenue sources, such as the $750 million Rainy Day Fund and a $700 million fund that helped doctors pay their malpractice insurance...

Repeal vote nears on health insurers' antitrust exemption
National Underwriter, Hoboken, NJ - Dec 1, 2009
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said an amendment to repeal the antitrust exemption that exists for health and medical malpractice insurers will be offered during action on proposed health care reform legislation...

Trial lawyers take their message underground
Wall Street Journal, NY - Dec 1, 2009
If some version of tort reform ultimately gets tucked into a passed health-care bill, it won’t be because the trial lawyers didn’t get out the message — at least in one of the more widely trafficked corridors in our nation’s capital...