[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 781 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 781

To amend the Public Health Service Act to limit the liability of health 
  care professionals who volunteer to provide health care services in 
                        response to a disaster.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 30, 2017

  Mr. Cassidy (for himself, Mr. King, and Mr. Manchin) 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 limit the liability of health 
  care professionals who volunteer to provide health care services in 
                        response to a disaster.

    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 ``Good Samaritan Health Professionals 
Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON LIABILITY FOR VOLUNTEER HEALTH CARE 
              PROFESSIONALS.

    (a) In General.--Title II of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 202 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 224 the 
following:

``SEC. 224A. LIMITATION ON LIABILITY FOR VOLUNTEER HEALTH CARE 
              PROFESSIONALS.

    ``(a) Limitation on Liability.--Except as provided in subsection 
(b), a health care professional shall not be liable under Federal or 
State law for any harm caused by an act or omission of the professional 
if--
            ``(1) the professional is serving as a volunteer for 
        purposes of responding to a disaster; and
            ``(2) the act or omission occurs--
                    ``(A) during the period of the disaster, as 
                determined under the laws listed in subsection (e)(1);
                    ``(B) in the health care professional's capacity as 
                such a volunteer; and
                    ``(C) in a good faith belief that the individual 
                being treated is in need of health care services.
    ``(b) Exceptions.--Subsection (a) does not apply if--
            ``(1) the harm was caused by an act or omission 
        constituting willful or criminal misconduct, gross negligence, 
        reckless misconduct, or a conscious flagrant indifference to 
        the rights or safety of the individual harmed by the health 
        care professional; or
            ``(2) the health care professional rendered the health care 
        services under the influence (as determined pursuant to 
        applicable State law) of intoxicating alcohol or an 
        intoxicating drug.
    ``(c) Standard of Proof.--In any civil action or proceeding against 
a health care professional claiming that the limitation in subsection 
(a) applies, the plaintiff shall have the burden of proving by clear 
and convincing evidence the extent to which limitation does not apply.
    ``(d) Preemption.--
            ``(1) In general.--This section preempts the laws of a 
        State or any political subdivision of a State to the extent 
        that such laws are inconsistent with this section, unless such 
        laws provide greater protection from liability.
            ``(2) Volunteer protection act.--Protections afforded by 
        this section are in addition to those provided by the Volunteer 
        Protection Act of 1997.
    ``(e) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) The term `disaster' means--
                    ``(A) a national emergency declared by the 
                President under the National Emergencies Act;
                    ``(B) an emergency or major disaster declared by 
                the President under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
                Relief and Emergency Assistance Act; or
                    ``(C) a public health emergency determined by the 
                Secretary under section 319 of this Act.
            ``(2) The term `harm' includes physical, nonphysical, 
        economic, and noneconomic losses.
            ``(3) The term `health care professional' means an 
        individual who is licensed, certified, or authorized in one or 
        more States to practice a health care profession.
            ``(4) The term `State' includes each of the several States, 
        the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 
        Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana 
        Islands, and any other territory or possession of the United 
        States.
            ``(5)(A) The term `volunteer' means a health care 
        professional who, with respect to the health care services 
        rendered, does not receive--
                    ``(i) compensation; or
                    ``(ii) any other thing of value in lieu of 
                compensation, in excess of $500 per year.
            ``(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), the term 
        `compensation'--
                    ``(i) includes payment under any insurance policy 
                or health plan, or under any Federal or State health 
                benefits program; and
                    ``(ii) excludes--
                            ``(I) reasonable reimbursement or allowance 
                        for expenses actually incurred;
                            ``(II) receipt of paid leave; and
                            ``(III) receipt of items to be used 
                        exclusively for rendering the health services 
                        in the health care professional's capacity as a 
                        volunteer described in subsection (a)(1).''.
    (b) Effective Date.--
            (1) In general.--This Act and the amendment made by 
        subsection (a) shall take effect 90 days after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act.
            (2) Application.--This Act applies to any claim for harm 
        caused by an act or omission of a health care professional 
        where the claim is filed on or after the effective date of this 
        Act, but only if the harm that is the subject of the claim or 
        the conduct that caused such harm occurred on or after such 
        effective date.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of the Congress that--
            (1) Federal and State agencies and licensing boards should 
        cooperate to facilitate the timely movement of properly 
        licensed volunteer health care professionals to areas affected 
        by a disaster; and
            (2) the appropriate licensing entities should verify the 
        licenses of volunteer health care professionals' serving 
        disaster victims as soon as is reasonably practical following a 
        disaster.
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