WASHINGTON, Sept. 21 (UPI) -- Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., said Tuesday malpractice insurance has become so expensive he can no longer afford to deliver babies.
Speaking at a breakfast sponsored by the American College of Cardiology, Coburn said he must now pay $1,600 every time he handles a delivery, The Hill newspaper reported. Since the Senate Ethics Committee warned him two years ago that being paid for medical treatment violated Senate rules on outside income, Coburn has worked for free and paid malpractice insurance and other costs himself.
Coburn said the 4,000 babies he brought into the world during his medical career were "the best thing I've ever done."
A 1983 graduate of the University of Oklahoma medical school, Coburn continues to practice if not to deliver. His staff says he schedules his patients in Oklahoma for Monday morning and then flies to Washington.
The Hill hosted the breakfast.
