Senate passes bill quickly day after 13-hour debate

It took state senators just under six minutes Thursday to pass and send to the House the medical costs bill they spent 13 hours debating Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.

Sen. Scott Sifton, D-Affton, helped lead the opposition to the bill during the 13-hour filibuster.

"What we stayed for and what we fought for was very important," he said before the final 25-7 vote passing it.

"The bill we will be voting on now is materially better than the bill that came to the floor on Tuesday," he added. "Most importantly, the concession that we won at approximately 6 a.m. Wednesday is one that will materially impact some of the worst-injured people, who will be living with their injuries the longest."

Even though he appreciated the concessions, Sifton still doesn't like the basic bill - and was one of the seven Democrats voting against it.

Senate President Pro Tem Ron Richard, R-Joplin, told reporters at a news conference after the vote: "I think the vote was a testament that we're on the right track."

Sen. Ed Emery, R-Lamar, sponsored the measure.

"I was happy with the compromise that we worked out," he told reporters. "In the end, I think we still have moved substantially back to what was passed in 2005.

"That was the goal basically, to restore the law as it was before the (Missouri Supreme) Court upended the definition of "cost.'"

Before the vote, Sifton told colleagues the final version helps protect some people.

"With respect to future medical expenses, we are going to have a state - if this bill becomes law - where people will be able to get a much better and fairer recovery of their future medical expenses than they would have otherwise.

"And that was very much worth the time that we spent working on this bill the other night."

But, Emery noted, that doesn't mean someone can re-open their lawsuit in the future, following a new major expense.

"(Future expenses) will continue to be argued in the context of the jury or the judge," he explained. "It's back to the way it was done before - it allows those anticipated future problems to brought into the trial and be determined (then)."

The bill now goes to the House, which will be free to make changes.

If that happens, a conference negotiation between the House and Senate will have to reach a compromise version that must be passed by both houses and signed by the governor - or passed again by both houses as a veto override - before it can become law.