AACU Sentinel Vol. 2013 Issue 02 - Summer 2013 | Page 5

Government Relations Report: 2013 Legislative Trends Most of the nation’s legislatures have adjourned for the year, though some will be in session this fall. This report will summarize and highlight some of the events and trends that were witnessed this during the spring legislative session. Medical Liability While a number of bills addressing medical liability were introduced this session, including those in Missouri which sought to reestablish caps on non-economic damages after the state’s supreme court found them unconstitutional, relatively few became law. Of significance, however, are bills in Georgia and Florida that became law. Georgia HB 499, which had the support of both the state’s medical society and trial bar, prohibits, in the absence of supportive expert testimony, federal payor guidelines, standards and criteria from being used to establish ne