Accident and Injury Lawyer Blog

Peter Orszag, Director of the Office of Management & Budget, in a Q&A with Business Week:

Q: One of the things Republicans always say is, why doesn't the White House want to make a deal about tort law? The President says he's open to every idea, so why is it a big thing to say "I'm open to medical malpractice reform"?

A: I guess I'd push back and say, if that's the deciding issue, then let's see a comprehensive plan that says, with this additional piece, we now sign on.

Thankfully, he falls short of saying what "reform" means. Is he talking about caps (ridiculous), requiring certificates of merit in every state (arguably not unreasonable), or using Comparative Effectiveness Research guidelines to create presumptions (a bad idea but I get the argument).

• The Theory That President Obama Will Flip on Medical Malpractice Tort Reform (and why I don't believe it)
• Post Obama's Malpractice Tort Reform Speech in June (President Obama on malpractice reform - his big speech addressing malpractice before health care legislation failed)


• President Obama's Views as an Illinois Senator (insight into where President Obama may be on malpractice caps)


• A Federal Malpractice Cap (yet another reason why it is a bad idea)