HARRISBURG (June 16, 2004) � PBA President Michael H. Reed today issued the following statement regarding efforts in the House of Representatives to force Senate Bill 9, the medical malpractice caps bill, out of committee and to the House floor for a vote:

�This is a critical moment; one on which the success or defeat of medical malpractice caps rests. The issue that drives the cost of medical malpractice is not the non-economic damage verdicts awarded to patients who are injured by medical error. The major cost driver of medical malpractice is inadequate patient safety.

The safety of Pennsylvanians should be at the forefront of this discussion. If the medical community can decrease the number of medical errors, then it will reduce the cost of those errors. When those errors are reduced, medical malpractice insurance premiums should be reduced as well. The pain and suffering that can be prevented, regardless of whether it is compensated or not, should be everyone�s concern.

We ask that the Legislature protect patient rights. We ask our legislative leaders to focus their attention and efforts on eliminating preventable medical mistakes and on improving patient safety. We ask them to vote against the Discharge Resolution on Senate Bill 9 and stop the effort to deflect attention from the real issue in medical malpractice � patient safety.�