Facilitating Innovation to Fight Coronavirus Act 2020-05-06 Introduced in Senate Facilitating Innovation to Fight Coronavirus Act

This bill provides immunity from civil liability to health care providers for certain actions taken during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency and lengthens the terms of certain medical patents related to the treatment of COVID-19.

Specifically, when testing for or treating COVID-19 during the public health emergency, a health care provider may not be held liable in any federal, state, or local civil proceeding for (1) using or modifying a medical device for an unapproved use or indication; (2) practicing without a license or outside of an area of specialty, if instructed to do so by an individual with such a license or within such an area of speciality; or (3) conducting the testing of, or providing treatment to, a patient outside of the premises of standard health care facilities.

Additionally, certain medical patents that are issued with respect to the treatment of COVID-19 are deemed not to begin until the termination of the presidential emergency declaration relating to COVID-19 and are extended for an additional 10 years.

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