After an initial attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), negotiations and discussions on such legislation continue on Capitol Hill. At the same time, House Republicans have sponsored and successfully passed out of committee a medical liability reform bill, H.R. 1215, titled the “Protecting Access to Care Act (PACA).” The bill is sponsored by Rep. Steve Knight (R-IA).
The House Judiciary Committee approved H.R. 1215 on February 28 by a vote of 18-17. This bill is based on California’s Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA) and would limit noneconomic damages in medical professional liability lawsuits to $250,000, while allowing for unlimited economic damages. The bill in its present form would allow state lawmakers to reserve the right to set the cap higher or lower than $250,000 while protecting existing state liability reforms. There is also language limiting its jurisdiction to apply to lawsuits in which patient care is covered under a federal program, be it Medicare, Medicaid, or a federally subsidized insurance plan under the ACA. The bill also limits the size of the “award based fees” attorneys could collect. Under the formula in the bill, the lawyers could collect up to 40 percent of the first $50,000 in recoveries, but only 15 percent of any amount recovered over $600,000.
House Republican leadership considers this measure to be part of its overall healthcare reform efforts with the support of a Congressional Budget Office estimate that the bill would reduce federal budget deficits by almost $50 billion over 10 years.
With the bill out of the House Judiciary Committee and discharged out of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, it is eligible for full debate on the House floor. That floor debate has been delayed, however, apparently over ACA repeal and replace negotiations.