President Obama told a roomful of doctors that he does not favor caps for malpractice awards. But he indicated he may be open to “apology legislation.” The latter excludes from evidence mere expressions of sympathy after mishaps occur.

“I'm not advocating caps on malpractice awards, which I personally believe can be unfair to people who've been wrongfully harmed,” Obama said, adding that he wants to scale back “defensive medicine.”

Most providers favor payment caps as a way to curb frivolous lawsuits, malpractice insurance premiums and defensive care.

Obama said he would meet providers to discuss liability reform, encouraging “evidence-based medicine” so physicians would not see the need to order unnecessary tests they say are only needed to prevent lawsuits.
As a senator, Obama co-authored an article on liability reform with future rival Hillary Clinton that was published in the May 2006 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.