Committee on Health Chairman David Catania praised the eight-member taskforce for finding consensus on this thorny issue.

"This legislation reflects common sense goals that the medical and legal communities can support. Relying on other proposals that have no chance of becoming law will ultimately leave patients and doctors in the same unenviable situation they find themselves in today," Catania said referring to Mayor Williams' plan to limit injury awards. A majority of the D.C. Council continues to raise objections to award caps.

Co-sponsored by Chairman Cropp as well as Councilmembers Patterson, Gray, Evans, and Brown, the Medical Malpractice Reform Act of 2005 requires patients to inform doctors of their intent to bring legal action against them at least 90 days in advance and calls for mediation once a suit has been filed. The legislation also incorporates patient safety measures including the creation of a database to track malpractice claims, a study of claims made against OB/GYNs, and the improved performance of the government agency that oversees the Board of Medicine. To encourage greater transparency in the insurance industry, the legislation recommends making public average insurance rates and the data used to justify rate increases. The measure also calls for the collection and publication of judgment and settlement information.

During Tuesday's legislative session, Catania also introduced the Health Information Access Act of 2005, which seeks to bring transparency to the rising cost of medical insurance premiums. This legislation requires health insurance companies to transmit to employers the total amount of money spent by the insurer on their employees. Sensitive personal data will not be conveyed. This information will give employers an idea of what they are receiving in return for what they pay in premiums.