At
his biggest, and longest, healthcare policy address to date,
President Obama on Monday stated that he'd been privately
discussing the idea of liability reform with the American Medical
Association for weeks.
During
a closed-door sessions with the AMA last month, Obama acknowledged
that limiting malpractice lawsuits could be an effective way to
reduce healthcare costs, the New York Times reports. Traditionally,
Democrats oppose such reforms, much to the chagrin of nursing home operators, physicians and other
providers.
According to the Times, the Obama administration hopes
that public support of these liability reforms will garner physician
support for another reform proposal they are less in favor of—a
public insurance plan.
Though
Obama said he recognized the need to change the way liability lawsuits work,
he ruled out the idea of a cap on malpractice suits, an approach
strongly favored by the AMA and other physician groups. Obama offered no specific liability overhaul plan during his
reform pitch, but he did say he was willing to explore a “range of
ideas.”