[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1546 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1546

 To provide grants to States for health care tribunals, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 12, 2005

Mr. Thornberry introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide grants to States for health care tribunals, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Medical Liability Procedural Reform 
Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR HEALTH CARE TRIBUNALS.

    (a) Grants Authorized.--The Attorney General may award grants to 
States for the development, implementation, and evaluation of health 
care tribunals.
    (b) Duration.--The Attorney General may award up to 7 grants under 
subsection (a) and each grant awarded under such subsection may not 
exceed a period of 10 years.
    (c) Application.--Each State desiring a grant under subsection (a) 
shall submit to the Attorney General an application, at such time, in 
such manner, and containing such information as the Attorney General 
may require.
    (d) Report.--Each State receiving a grant under subsection (a) 
shall submit to the Attorney General a report evaluating the 
effectiveness of activities funded with grants awarded under such 
subsection at such time and in such manner as the Attorney General may 
require.
    (e) Technical Assistance.--The Attorney General shall provide 
technical assistance to the States awarded grants under subsection (a). 
Such technical assistance shall include the development, in 
consultation with States, of common definitions, formats, and data 
collection infrastructure for States receiving grants under this 
section to use in reporting to facilitate aggregation and analysis of 
data both within and between States. The technical assistance shall 
also include guidance about identification and selection of health care 
tribunal judges and independent expert witnesses, compensation of 
injured patients, and clinical resources relating to the standard of 
care. States not receiving grants under this section may also use such 
common definitions, formats, data collection infrastructure, and other 
guidance from the Attorney General pertaining to health care tribunals.
    (f) Evaluation.--
            (1) In general.--The Attorney General shall enter into a 
        contract with an appropriate research organization to conduct 
        an overall evaluation of the effectiveness of grants awarded 
        under subsection (a) and to annually prepare and submit a 
        report to the appropriate committees of Congress. Such an 
        evaluation shall begin not later than 18 months following the 
        date of implementation of the first program funded by a grant 
        under subsection (a).
            (2) Contents.--The evaluation under paragraph (1) shall 
        include an analysis of the effect of the grants awarded under 
        subsection (a) on--
                    (A) the number, nature, and costs of health care 
                liability claims;
                    (B) the liability environment;
                    (C) health care quality; and
                    (D) patient safety.
    (g) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Health care tribunal.--The term ``health care 
        tribunal'' means a trial court or administrative tribunal--
                    (A) the sole function of which is for the 
                adjudication of disputes over injuries allegedly caused 
                by health care providers;
                    (B) to which all or a portion of such disputes 
                within a jurisdiction are assigned;
                    (C) the decisions of which are final, binding, and 
                appealable; and
                    (D) the judges for which have health care expertise 
                and render decisions about the standard of care in 
                dispute adjudication, with reliance on independent 
                expert witnesses commissioned by the court.
            (2) Health care provider.--The term ``health care 
        provider'' means any individual or entity licensed, registered, 
        or certified under Federal or State laws or regulations to 
        provide health care services, but does not include any 
        manufacturer of drugs or devices.
    (h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section such sums as may be necessary. 
Amounts appropriated pursuant to this subsection shall remain available 
until expended.
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