Key Democrat Challenges GOP Plan

Republicans try to deal with a shortage of emergency room doctors by making it harder to sue them for malpractice.

House Democratic leader Phil Lopes, who has a public health background, is against the idea, because nobody can agree on a goal. "Is it for premiums to go down? Is it for doctors to be less fearful? It's not clear what the hope for result is," said Lopes.

Lopes said it could just be doctors don't like awaking in the middle of the night to treat emergencies.

If the problem is high premiums, Lopes suggests new insurance regulations. "We could prohibit insurance companies from discriminating in premiums against ER docs," he said.

Lopes said many solutions are preferable to having consumers lose their legal rights.