JURIST - Paper Chase: Bush speaks out against 'junk' malpractice suits

AP: "With health care looming as a major campaign issue, President George W. Bush slammed what he called "junk lawsuits" as a major factor in the skyrocketing cost of health care. Visiting an Arkansas hospital Monday, he declared such suits are "threatening medicine across the country." "

Speaking at Little Rock's Baptist Health Medical Center, Bush urged Congress to limit "pain-and-suffering" awards, a topic he also referred to in his State of the Union address. The White House provides the full text of today's remarks here. Last year, the House passed a medical malpractice cap, but it died in the Senate. Bush argues that increasing amounts of lawsuits are forcing up insurance premiums, impairing the practice of medicine, and forcing doctors out of rural areas. Democrats argued that the previous bill would have helped the insurance industry more than patients.