WASHINGTON  — U.S. Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., spoke at a press conference this week introducing the Help, Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act, legislation he said would reduce frivolous medical lawsuits that are raising the cost of health care in the United States.

He said the bipartisan legislation would provide a reasonable and timely process for those who have been wronged, while removing the financial incentives for filing unnecessary lawsuits.

“Minnesota is known for its excellent health care, with patients flying to the state from around the world. We need to keep it that way by putting patients first and reducing health-care costs. In some states, a medical liability crisis is leading physicians to scale back their practices or shut down entirely. Patients face closed doors and are losing vital healthcare services,” Kline said. “Unless we fix this crisis, we may discover it is easier to find a lawyer in our community than a doctor.”  Kline is an original sponsor of the legislation.Kline said the HEALTH Act:

• Allows patients to recover the full cost of economic damages, such as medical bills and lost income.
• Allows punitive damages to be the greater of two times the amount of economic damages awarded or $250,000.
• Maximizes patients’ awards by allowing courts to ensure an unjust portion of the patient’s recovery is not misdirected to a lawyer.

U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey, R-Ga., introduced the legislation in the House of Representatives earlier this week.

 “As a practicing OB-GYN for nearly 30 years, I saw skyrocketing malpractice insurance rates force good doctors to hang up their stethoscopes for good,” Gingrey said. “Already, women are forced to cross state lines just to deliver a baby. Rural communities are left without hospitals. This shouldn’t be happening in America, home to the best physicians and health-care technology in the world.”