Senate votes down tort reform bill for ob/gyns

Article

Just 14 days after S. 2061 was introduced, the US Senate held a cloture vote on the ACOG-supported medical liability reform legislation. The 48-45 vote effectively closed debate on the Healthy Mothers and Healthy Babies Access to Care Act in the Senate, according to the electronic newsletter American Health Line (2/20/04).

Among the now-defunct bill's provisions was a cap of $250,000 on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits against ob/gyns. The bill also would have capped punitive damages against ob/gyns at $250,000 or twice the amount of economic damages, whichever is higher.

While ACOG and other supporters of the bill had promoted it as a women's health measure that would help stem the tide of skyrocketing insurance premiums, opponents attributed the problem of skyrocketing premiums to insurers wanting to compensate for investment losses—not to high damage awards in malpractice cases.

Recent Videos
Expert discussions from the 2025 ACOG meeting | Image Credit: © stevengaertner - © stevengaertner - stock.adobe.com.
Trina Mansour, MD
Negative pressure wound therapy reduces c-section infections and costs | Image Credit: doctors.valleyhealth.com.
Amy Valent DO, MCR, highlights new tech for prenatal diabetes management | Image Credit: linkedin.com.
Lisa Bayer, MD, MPH
Megan Wasson, DO, FACOG
Megan Cohen, MD, MPH, outlines 2024 CDC contraception guidelines | Image Credit: linkedin.com.
Wasson and Colak
Johanna Finkle, MD, weight loss specialist, OB/GYN, The University of Kansas Health System.
Navigating hormone therapy in high-risk menopause cases | Image Credit: © dhaj7-cepo.com.
© 2025 MJH Life Sciences

All rights reserved.