This week the House passed legislation limiting non-economic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits to $250,000. The vote on the Republican-backed bill was 229 to 197. This is the exact same bill that passed the House at the federal level last year but failed in the Senate due to a Democrat-led filibuster. It will once again go to the Senate for debate before it can become law. Republicans have made malpractice reform a top priority though efforts to pass legislation have failed twice this year in the Senate, where Democrats vehemently oppose limiting damages. The American Medical Association applauded Wednesday night's vote, calling the bill a "common sense" approach to medical liability reform. The AMA placed a full-page ad in Roll Call and wrote letters to House leadership in support of the bill.