[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 127 (Thursday, July 27, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S4451]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 416. Mr. CRUZ submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to 
amendment SA 267 proposed by Mr. McConnell to the bill H.R. 1628, to 
provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of the concurrent 
resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2017; which was ordered to lie 
on the table; as follows:

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. INCREASED FMAP FOR STATES THAT ADOPT MEDICAL 
                   LIABILITY REFORM LEGISLATION.

       Section 1905 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396d) 
     is amended--
       (1) in subsection (b), in the first sentence, by striking 
     ``and (aa)'' and inserting ``(aa), and (ee)'';
       (2) in subsection (cc)--
       (A) by striking ``and (aa)'' and inserting ``(aa), and 
     (ee)''; and
       (B) by inserting ``(or, in the case of an increase under 
     subsection (ee), for the fiscal quarter occurring immediately 
     prior to the first fiscal quarter during which the State is 
     eligible for such increase)'' after ``December 31, 2009,''; 
     and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(ee) Increased FMAP for Medical Liability Reform.--
       ``(1) In general.--For fiscal years beginning on or after 
     October 1, 2017, notwithstanding subsection (b), for a State 
     that is one of the 50 States or the District of Columbia and 
     meets the requirement of paragraph (2) for the entire fiscal 
     year, the Federal medical assistance percentage otherwise 
     determined under such subsection and subsections (y), (z), 
     and (aa) for the State and year shall be increased by 1 
     percentage point.
       ``(2) Limitations on noneconomic damages in medical 
     liability cases.--A State meets the requirement of this 
     paragraph if State law provides that, in any action on a 
     health care liability claim where judgment is rendered for a 
     claimant, regardless of the number of defendants against whom 
     judgment is rendered or the number of separate causes of 
     action on which the claim is based--
       ``(A) the maximum collective amount of noneconomic damages 
     recoverable from one or more physicians or health care 
     providers that are not health care institutions (inclusive of 
     all persons and entities associated with the physician or 
     provider for which vicarious liability theories may apply) 
     against whom judgment is rendered shall not exceed $250,000 
     for each claimant;
       ``(B) the maximum amount of noneconomic damages recoverable 
     from any single health care institution (inclusive of all 
     persons and entities associated with the institution for 
     which vicarious liability theories may apply) against whom 
     judgment is rendered shall not exceed $250,000 for each 
     claimant; and
       ``(C) the maximum collective amount of noneconomic damages 
     recoverable from all health care institutions (inclusive of 
     all persons and entities associated with the institution for 
     which vicarious liability theories may apply) against whom 
     judgment is rendered shall not exceed $500,000 for each 
     claimant.
       ``(3) Noneconomic damages.--In this subsection, the term 
     `noneconomic damages' means damages awarded for the purpose 
     of compensating a claimant for physical pain and suffering, 
     mental or emotional pain or anguish, loss of consortium, 
     disfigurement, physical impairment, loss of companionship and 
     society, inconvenience, loss of enjoyment of life, injury to 
     reputation, and all other nonpecuniary losses of any kind 
     other than exemplary or punitive damages.''.
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