[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1059 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1059

To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide liability protections 
for volunteer practitioners at health centers under section 330 of such 
                                  Act.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 25, 2011

 Mr. Thune (for himself, Mr. Casey, Mr. Blunt, Mr. Lugar, Mr. Franken, 
 and Mr. Sanders) introduced the following bill; which was read twice 
and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide liability protections 
for volunteer practitioners at health centers under section 330 of such 
                                  Act.

    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 ``Family Health Care Accessibility Act 
of 2011''.

SEC. 2. LIABILITY PROTECTIONS FOR HEALTH PROFESSIONAL VOLUNTEERS AT 
              COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS.

    Section 224 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 233) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(q)(1) For purposes of this section, a health professional 
volunteer at an entity described in subsection (g)(4) shall, in 
providing a health professional service eligible for funding under 
section 330 to an individual, be deemed to be an employee of the Public 
Health Service for a calendar year that begins during a fiscal year for 
which a transfer was made under paragraph (4)(C). The preceding 
sentence is subject to the provisions of this subsection.
    ``(2) In providing a health service to an individual, a health care 
practitioner shall for purposes of this subsection be considered to be 
a health professional volunteer at an entity described in subsection 
(g)(4) if the following conditions are met:
            ``(A) The service is provided to the individual at the 
        facilities of an entity described in subsection (g)(4), or 
        through offsite programs or events carried out by the entity.
            ``(B) The entity is sponsoring the health care practitioner 
        pursuant to paragraph (3)(B).
            ``(C) The health care practitioner does not receive any 
        compensation for the service from the individual or from any 
        third-party payer (including reimbursement under any insurance 
        policy or health plan, or under any Federal or State health 
        benefits program), except that the health care practitioner may 
        receive repayment from the entity described in subsection 
        (g)(4) for reasonable expenses incurred by the health care 
        practitioner in the provision of the service to the individual.
            ``(D) Before the service is provided, the health care 
        practitioner or the entity described in subsection (g)(4) posts 
        a clear and conspicuous notice at the site where the service is 
        provided of the extent to which the legal liability of the 
        health care practitioner is limited pursuant to this 
        subsection.
            ``(E) At the time the service is provided, the health care 
        practitioner is licensed or certified in accordance with 
        applicable law regarding the provision of the service.
    ``(3) Subsection (g) (other than paragraphs (3) and (5)) and 
subsections (h), (i), and (l) apply to a health care practitioner for 
purposes of this subsection to the same extent and in the same manner 
as such subsections apply to an officer, governing board member, 
employee, or contractor of an entity described in subsection (g)(4), 
subject to paragraph (4) and subject to the following:
            ``(A) The first sentence of paragraph (1) applies in lieu 
        of the first sentence of subsection (g)(1)(A).
            ``(B) With respect to an entity described in subsection 
        (g)(4), a health care practitioner is not a health professional 
        volunteer at such entity unless the entity sponsors the health 
        care practitioner. For purposes of this subsection, the entity 
        shall be considered to be sponsoring the health care 
        practitioner if--
                    ``(i) with respect to the health care practitioner, 
                the entity submits to the Secretary an application 
                meeting the requirements of subsection (g)(1)(D); and
                    ``(ii) the Secretary, pursuant to subsection 
                (g)(1)(E), determines that the health care practitioner 
                is deemed to be an employee of the Public Health 
                Service.
            ``(C) In the case of a health care practitioner who is 
        determined by the Secretary pursuant to subsection (g)(1)(E) to 
        be a health professional volunteer at such entity, this 
        subsection applies to the health care practitioner (with 
        respect to services performed on behalf of the entity 
        sponsoring the health care practitioner pursuant to 
        subparagraph (B)) for any cause of action arising from an act 
        or omission of the health care practitioner occurring on or 
        after the date on which the Secretary makes such determination.
            ``(D) Subsection (g)(1)(F) applies to a health care 
        practitioner for purposes of this subsection only to the extent 
        that, in providing health services to an individual, each of 
        the conditions specified in paragraph (2) is met.
    ``(4)(A) Amounts in the fund established under subsection (k)(2) 
shall be available for transfer under subparagraph (C) for purposes of 
carrying out this subsection.
    ``(B) Not later than May 1 of each fiscal year, the Attorney 
General, in consultation with the Secretary, shall submit to the 
Congress a report providing an estimate of the amount of claims 
(together with related fees and expenses of witnesses) that, by reason 
of the acts or omissions of health professional volunteers, will be 
paid pursuant to this section during the calendar year that begins in 
the following fiscal year. Subsection (k)(1)(B) applies to the estimate 
under the preceding sentence regarding health professional volunteers 
to the same extent and in the same manner as such subsection applies to 
the estimate under such subsection regarding officers, governing board 
members, employees, and contractors of entities described in subsection 
(g)(4).
    ``(C) Not later than December 31 of each fiscal year, the Secretary 
shall transfer from the fund under subsection (k)(2) to the appropriate 
accounts in the Treasury an amount equal to the estimate made under 
subparagraph (B) for the calendar year beginning in such fiscal year, 
subject to the extent of amounts in the fund.
    ``(5)(A) This subsection takes effect on October 1, 2012, except as 
provided in subparagraph (B).
    ``(B) Effective on the date of the enactment of this subsection--
            ``(i) the Secretary may issue regulations for carrying out 
        this subsection, and the Secretary may accept and consider 
        applications submitted pursuant to paragraph (3)(B); and
            ``(ii) reports under paragraph (4)(B) may be submitted to 
        the Congress.''.
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