MDiTV News: How do You Start a Brawl Between Lawyers and Doctors?

http://www.mditv.com -- If you want to spark a brawl gather together some lawyers, doctors and others from across the political spectrum and say two little words: medical malpractice.

Some will argue passionately that tort reform is essential to control health care costs and that high premiums are forcing some doctors to quit. Others will argue that with equal passion against limiting a patient's right to seek compensation and that while some specialists pay high premiums, malpractice insurance and awards account for just a tiny fraction of the nation's health care bill.

Yet despite the strong views, tort reform didn't really figure into the new federal legislation on health care except for 50 million dollars to fund some state demonstration projects to test proposed reforms. That mismatch between passion and action doesn't surprise some veterans of tort reform battles in Oregon.

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