Lawmakers and White House officials are once again squarely focused on health care reform, and the debate over what, if any, medical malpractice reform measure will be included continues in Washington.

Next week at a Health and Human Services hearing, proponents of reform plan that would allow victims of malpractice to go before a local panel of experts appointed by state authorities will make the case to Obama administration officials.

At the Supreme Court, all will be quiet until the justices conference again one week from today.

Meanwhile,

(Anti)trust issues: A bill that would end the antitrust exemption for health insurance and medical malpractice insurance companies was advanced by a House panel Wednesday. (Lawyers USA)

Greg Craig watch: Is White House counsel Greg Craig on the way out? And if so, why? (The New York Times)

Red flags waived: The House passed a bill that would exempt attorneys in small firms and other professionals from the Federal Trade Commission’s “red flags” rule, which is set to go into effect Nov. 1. (Lawyers USA)

Hate crimes bill passes: The Senate passed a hate crimes bill that would extend protection to gays and lesbians, (The Washington Post)

This entry was posted on Friday, October 23rd, 2009 at 4:10 am and is filed under Friday morning docket, Trial attorneys, White House. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.