"The Democrats included tort reform language from two GOP bills (including Paul Ryan's 2009 health reform legislation) in the ACA."
2007: One of the top GOP leaders on health in the Senate--and ranking member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee--
Mike Enzi introduces his
Ten Steps to Transform Health Care in America Act (S. 1783 in that Congress). It introduces federal support for state-level tort reform that can satisfy even the Tenth Amendment crowd that reflexively opposes tort reform solutions that require federalizing tort law--instead it offers states grants to try out alternative to their current tort laws:
2009: GOP leaders (most notably Paul Ryan and Tom Coburn) in both chambers collaborate to produce a comprehensive health reform bill, in anticipation of the Democrats releasing their own health reform bills later in the year. This legislation,
The Patients' Choice Act (H.R. 2520 in that Congress), borrows from Enzi's previous attempt by including:
2010: The Democrats pass the
Affordable Care Act. It contains the following provision (which can, of course, also now be looked up in the U.S. Code since it's actually U.S. law now:
42 USC § 280g15 - State demonstration programs to evaluate alternatives to current medical tort litigation), which sounds suspiciously copied and pasted:
2011: Around the country, GOP governors (in 29 states!) and GOP statehouse majorities (total control of the legislature in 25 states, partial control of 8 more!) take office following the 2010 wave election. The best opportunity in a generation for the GOP to implement tort reform in states all over the country appears. If only there was some federal assistance to help them (or push them?) into doing it!
Meanwhile, Obama ups the ante five-fold in his budget request that year:
Obama's Budget Includes $250M in Malpractice Grants
WASHINGTON -- In a nod to those who have called for changes in the medical liability system, President Obama's 2012 budget proposal includes $250 million in Justice Department grants for states that want to try out some alternatives.
The aim of the grants -- which were quietly tucked into the Justice Department budget and not even mentioned by the nation's top health officials -- is to help states try out an alternative to the medical tort system that would fairly compensate patients who are harmed by negligence, improve the quality of healthcare, and reduce medical costs associated with defensive medicine, according to a Justice Department summary.
2013: Anonymous poster on the Internet has never heard of any of this because Congress never funded it.