The Latest: The Senate Banking and Insurance Committee has approved Senate Bill 379, sponsored by Senator Pat Vance (R-Cumberland). The legislation makes any benevolent gesture made prior to the commencement of a medical liability action by certain health care workers inadmissible as evidence of liability or admission against interest. The legislation also includes language to reauthorize the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Background: Pennsylvania’s physicians and hospitals face some of the highest medical liability costs in the nation. The high legal costs paid by Pennsylvania health care providers, employers, and governments inhibit job growth, increase health care costs, and limit access to medical care. Pennsylvania needs to enact meaningful legal reforms that will inject fairness, common sense, and personal responsibility into our legal system. Medical liability reform is necessary to support patient access to health care and to help reduce health care costs.