Congressional and Judicial Update:
White
House May Veto Senate HMO "Reform";
Major Victory in
Oregon Against Non-Economic Damage Caps
On July 14, Senate Democrats failed by a
margin of only three votes in their effort to empower 125
million Americans by giving them the right to hold managed
care accountable for delaying or denying medical care that
results in an injury or death. But the day also saw a huge win
for the consumers of Oregon when the state's supreme court
struck down a law limiting non-economic damages.
In the Oregon victory, the Oregon Supreme
Court unanimously struck down a 12-year-old state law limiting
non-economic damages to only $500,000. Finding that a cap on
damages violates the state constitutional guarantee of an
"inviolate" right to trial by jury, the court said that a
legislated limit on available damages is utterly unlike a
judicial remittitur, where a plaintiff is afforded a choice
between the lowered damage award of a new trial in which the
larger amount could be confirmed. Equally important, the Court
rejected defense arguments that the legislature has the power
to alter or repeal all laws, holding that the Constitution
places limits on the legislature that include rights
recognized at the common law.
The decision marks the second time in a week
that a state supreme court has upheld plaintiff rights on
constitutional grounds at the urging of ATLA. Earlier, the
Indiana Supreme Court used arguments crafted by ATLA's Legal
Affairs staff to hold that a two-year "occurrence" statute of
limitations in medical malpractice cases was unconstitutional
as applied to diseases or injuries with long latency periods.
In the Oregon case, the Court accepted ATLA's arguments about
the constitutional status and importance of common law
rights.
For more information on the Oregon decision,
go to http://www.publications.ojd.state.or.us/S44110a.htm.
Meanwhile, in the long-awaited U.S. Senate
floor action on HMO reform, the vote was 53-to-47 in favor of
an amendment offered by Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH) to strip HMO
accountability from the Daschle-Kennedy Patients' Bill of
Rights. Voting with all 45 Senate Democrats on the HMO
liability issue were GOP Senators Arlen Specter (PA) and Peter
Fitzgerald (IL).
After four intense days of debate, lobbying
an voting on various amendments, the GOP version of the bill
passed 53-to-47. Republican Senators John Chafee (RI) and
Fitzgerald joined their Democratic colleagues in voting
against this sham bill. The pressure is now on the House of
Representatives to pass a managed care bill before the August
6th recess. Managed care legislation is pending in both the
House Commerce Committee and the Education & the Workforce
Committee.
President Clinton has stated that he will
veto the Senate-passed bill on managed care health.
