Tort reform was the main topic on Capitol Hill Thursday as the U.S. House of Representatives began debating a medical liability bill that will place controversial limits on malpractice awards. The measure, drafted by Rep. James Greenwood (R-Pa.), is known as the Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-Cost Timely Health Care (HEALTH) Act. If approved by the House and Senate, the legislation will limit non-economic damages--compensation for life-altering injuries--at $250,000; place no cap on economic damages such as lost wages and medical costs; cap punitive damages at twice the amount of economic damages or $250,000, whichever is greater and limit attorney fees and the statute of limitations on filing lawsuits. Besides physicians, the bill will protect hospitals, nursing homes and other health care facilities.

Doctors, supported by Republicans, allege multimillion-dollar judgments have forced colleagues as well as hospitals out of business. High-risk medical professionals, such as neurosurgeons and obstetricians, can reportedly pay over $200,000 a year in malpractice insurance. But Democrats and trial lawyers argue that caps are unfair to victims of medical malpractice and will only "pad the pockets of insurance companies."