Democrats try tougher tone on health plan
Wall Street Journal, New York, NY - Sep 2, 2009
...Republicans said the Democratic leadership has never really given them a seat at the table or entertained their ideas on health care, which include limiting medical-malpractice suits and allowing small businesses to join insurance-buying pools that would be exempt from state-level regulations...

Could lawsuit curbs pave way for health care deal?
NPR, Washington, DC - Sep 2, 2009
In the Republicans' most recent weekly radio address, Wyoming Sen. Mike Enzi offered several of what he called "common sense reforms" aimed at curbing health care costs: more competitive insurance plans, better information for health care shoppers, and that old GOP chestnut — cutting down on frivolous lawsuits...

Democrats, Republicans still at odds over state budget
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA - Sep 2, 2009
...The latter category includes the state's $750 million "Rainy Day Fund'' for economic emergencies and a surplus of about $700 million in a fund that helps doctors pay medical malpractice insurance premiums...

House, Senate negotiators meet on budget for first time in weeks
The Morning Call, Allentown, PA - Sep 2, 2009
...It also calls for one-time fixes such as a $350 million transfer from the state's $750 million Rainy Day Fund savings account and a $400 million withdrawal from a fund that provides state-subsidized malpractice insurance to physicians...

Panel agrees to talk more, but when?
Patriot-News, Harrisburg, PA - Sep 2, 2009
...This plan would not raise taxes, but it would: raise revenue through accounting changes for personal income and sales tax collections to add $370 million this year; draw down $350 million in Rainy Day funds; take $400 million from a fund created to help doctors with soaring medical malpractice premiums...

Montco sees huge rise in malpractice cases
The Intelligencer, Doylestown, PA - Sep 2, 2009
..."Our yearly malpractice caseload soared, increasing by more than 300 percent," said Kehs. In contrast, the number of new malpractice cases filed in the plaintiff-friendly Philadelphia courts decreased by about 50 percent...

Doctors address need for health-care reform
Green Bay Press-Gazette, WI - Sep 2, 2009
...the panel focused on five key points members said they agreed on: covering the uninsured, funding for Medicare, enacting tort reform, cutting bureaucracy and maintaining the doctor-patient relationship...

Opinion - Melvin Johnson: 'Right to health care' untrue
The Coloradoan, Fort Collins, CO - Sep 2, 2009
...When I have asked why the charges are so high, the first response I receive is the cost of malpractice insurance. Tort reform is always set aside because of all the lawyers who make the money...

Opinion - H. J. Lewis: Health care: America will get what it voted for
Zanesville Times Recorder, OH - Sep 2, 2009
...We also were required to buy shares of a malpractice insurance fund that went broke from fraudulent actions, producing even greater pain. I still have the worthless certificates...

Opinion - Frank Schell: Time to buy time
The American Spectator, Arlington, VA - Sep 2, 2009
...While malpractice insurance raises the cost of health care to the patient, a knock-on effect is the overprescribing of some tests and procedures, due to an abundance of caution in a litigious culture...

Opinion - Gerald H. Balzar: Consider other ideas for system overhaul
Springfield News-Leader, Springfield, MO - Sep 2, 2009
...2. As for malpractice awards, consider an annuity format consistent with the patient's life style, plus associated medical costs. If convicted, strip the doctor's license for some period of time based on the nature of the conviction...

Opinion - Paul Howard: How to save Obamacare and Kennedy's legacy
San Francisco Examiner, CA - Sep 1, 2009
...Consensus also exists for creating health exchanges that allow consumers to choose from a range of private health insurance choices; enacting tort reform to reduce frivolous medical malpractice litigation; and eliminating fraud, waste and abuse...