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House amends malpractice-cap bill, removes automatic indexing and circles the measure
Summary
Lawmakers debated raising the non-economic damages cap from $250,000 to $400,000 and whether to index it for inflation. The House approved an amendment removing indexing (39–33) and later placed the bill on the 'circle' calendar.
On Feb. 14 the Utah House took up Senate Bill 129, a measure to raise the cap on non-economic damages in medical-malpractice cases and to add an annual inflation adjustment. Representative Wei, the floor sponsor, told members that "we're gonna bring that cap up to $400,000 from $250,000" and that indexing was intended to avoid repeated legislative updates.
Floor debate focused on trade-offs between increasing awards for injured plaintiffs and the effect on malpractice insurance premiums. Representatives opposing automatic indexing argued it would cause a ‘ripple effect’ on premiums and medical costs; those favoring indexing said the cap has not been raised in many years and indexing is a fairness measure.
The House voted on a motion to remove the indexing provision and, after a division, recorded the amendment passing 39 yes to 33 no. Representative Wei then moved to "circle" the bill (hold it on the calendar), which the House recorded as done.
What’s next: SB129 was amended on the House floor to remove automatic indexing and was circled for further consideration.
