In a July speech, President Bush echoed what some physicians have been saying about the medical liability climate for years. Here are excerpts:

"Sometimes the lawyers take up to 40% of the verdict -- 40%. And while patients injured by a doctor's malpractice deserve fair compensation, there are too many cases of grossly excessive jury awards."

"People say, well, is it a federal responsibility? Should the federal government act on this problem? And the answer is yes. ... The federal government uses taxpayers' money to fund health care programs -- Medicare, Medicaid, children's health care, veterans' health care, military health care. And any time a frivolous lawsuit drives up the cost of health care, it affects taxpayers."

"Higher and higher insurance premiums make it nearly impossible for a lot of doctors to practice medicine. And if docs don't practice medicine, it's hard to have good health care."

Bush decries "junk lawsuits," calls for federal tort reform: Physicians praise the president's proposal, which is similar to AMA-backed legislation aimed at easing the medical liability crisis. This well researched article from the AMAnews summarizes the issue well. The trial lawyers (and hence the Democrats) disagree.