Points For Honesty

Well, if you're going to come out and just say it:

With all this talk about health care reform, don’t expect tort reform to move front and center, at least according to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mac Middleton.

Middleton, who was on a health care panel at the Maryland Chamber of Commerce Business Policy Conference in Cambridge last Friday, said political realities might prevent it.

Middleton, a Democrat, said that having a Democratic president and Congress means no one is talking about limiting damages in medical malpractice cases.

“One of the things [is], Republican or Democrat, you take care of your base,” Middleton said.

“You recognize the people that get you there. It’s labor and trial lawyers that get Democrats in office. And you don’t bite off the hand that feeds you. That’s the stark reality of it.”