Medical Liability Reform

Important Legal Reform Closer to Law; 'Fair Share Act' Must Now Pass Senate

With the help of the CareforPA community who emailed state House of Representative members earlier this month, important legal reforms are one step closer to becoming law. House Bill 1 (also known as “The Fair Share Act”) was passed by the House and is now in the state Senate Judiciary Committee for consideration, along with its companion bill, Senate Bill 2.

It’s critical that House Bill 1 or Senate Bill 2 is passed by the Senate and goes to the Governor for signature in order to help address the high legal costs paid by Pennsylvania health care providers. Currently, those high legal costs increase health care costs for all Pennsylvanians, limit access to medical care for Pennsylvanians, hurt statewide job growth, and keep hospitals from finding physicians who want to work in our state. You can read more about Pennsylvania’s medical liability crisis by clicking the “Related Articles” link on the right side of this page.

Next Steps for Legal Reform

Both House Bill 1 and Senate Bill 2 are in the state Senate Judiciary Committee, which is chaired by Senator Stewart Greenleaf who favors trial lawyers and opposes both bills. Sen. Greenleaf has introduced his own bill, Senate Bill 500, as an alternative. Sen. Greenleaf’s bill, however, only would apply in very rare instances, essentially keeping the current broken legal system in place. Pennsylvania’s hospital community opposes Senate Bill 500.

Sen. Greenleaf must bring either House Bill 1 or Senate Bill 2 up for a vote in the committee, and the committee must pass the bill by a majority vote in order for the bill to move to the full Senate for consideration.

Pennsylvania’s Fair Share Act has the support of more than 40 organizations representing hospitals, medical professionals, businesses, and local governments. It’s a common sense legal reform that is in place in 40 other states and must be passed in Pennsylvania to ensure a strong health care and business environment for its residents.

You Can Help

If you have not done so already, please take a moment to email your Senate member and urge them to support House Bill 1 or Senate Bill 2. As Senate members hear from Pennsylvanians like you, they will put pressure on Sen. Greenleaf to put House Bill 1 or Senate Bill 2 up for a vote.

By using CareforPA’s email system, you can make a big difference in less than a minute. After you send your email, use the links at the bottom of this page to pass the information on to your family and friends.