Good Samaritan Health Professionals Act of 2023

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2819 To amend the Public Health Service Act to limit the liability of health care professionals who volunteer to provide health care services in re- sponse to a disaster. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 25, 2023 Mr. BUCSHON (for himself and Mr. RUIZ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently deter- mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 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 Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Good Samaritan 4 Health Professionals Act of 2023’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:51 May 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2819.IH H2819 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2819 IH SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON LIABILITY FOR VOLUNTEER 1 HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title II of the Public Health Serv- 3 ice Act (42 U.S.C. 202 et seq.) is amended by inserting 4 after section 224 the following: 5 ‘‘SEC. 224A. LIMITATION ON LIABILITY FOR VOLUNTEER 6 HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS. 7 ‘‘(a) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.—Except as provided 8 in subsection (b), a health care professional shall not be 9 liable under Federal or State law for any harm caused 10 by an act or omission of the professional in the provision 11 of health care services if— 12 ‘‘(1) the professional is serving, for purposes of 13 responding to a disaster, as a volunteer; and 14 ‘‘(2) the act or omission occurs— 15 ‘‘(A) during the period of the disaster, as 16 determined under the laws listed in subsection 17 (d)(1); 18 ‘‘(B) in the State or States for which the 19 disaster is declared; 20 ‘‘(C) in the health care professional’s ca- 21 pacity as a volunteer; 22 ‘‘(D) in the course of providing services 23 that are within the scope of the license, reg- 24 istration, or certification of the volunteer, as de- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:51 May 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2819.IH H2819 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2819 IH fined by the State of licensure, registration, or 1 certification; and 2 ‘‘(E) in a good faith belief that the indi- 3 vidual being treated is in need of health care 4 services. 5 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS.—Subsection (a) does not apply 6 if— 7 ‘‘(1) the harm was caused by an act or omission 8 constituting willful or criminal misconduct, gross 9 negligence, reckless misconduct, or a conscious fla- 10 grant indifference to the rights or safety of the indi- 11 vidual harmed by the health care professional; or 12 ‘‘(2) the health care professional rendered the 13 health care services under the influence (as deter- 14 mined pursuant to applicable State law) of alcohol 15 or an intoxicating drug. 16 ‘‘(c) PREEMPTION.— 17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—This section preempts the 18 laws of a State or any political subdivision of a State 19 to the extent that such laws are inconsistent with 20 this section, unless such laws provide greater protec- 21 tion from liability. 22 ‘‘(2) VOLUNTEER PROTECTION ACT.—Protec- 23 tions afforded by this section are in addition to those 24 provided by the Volunteer Protection Act of 1997. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:51 May 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2819.IH H2819 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2819 IH ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 1 ‘‘(1) The term ‘disaster’ means— 2 ‘‘(A) a national emergency declared by the 3 President under the National Emergencies Act; 4 ‘‘(B) an emergency or major disaster de- 5 clared by the President under the Robert T. 6 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist- 7 ance Act; or 8 ‘‘(C) a public health emergency that is de- 9 termined by the Secretary under section 319 of 10 this Act with respect to one or more States 11 specified in such determination— 12 ‘‘(i) during only the initial period cov- 13 ered by such determination; and 14 ‘‘(ii) excluding any period covered by 15 a renewal of such determination. 16 ‘‘(2) The term ‘harm’ includes physical, non- 17 physical, economic, and noneconomic losses. 18 ‘‘(3) The term ‘health care professional’ means 19 an individual who is licensed, registered, or certified 20 under Federal or State law to provide health care 21 services. 22 ‘‘(4) The term ‘health care services’ means any 23 services provided by a health care professional, or by 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:51 May 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2819.IH H2819 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2819 IH any individual working under the supervision of a 1 health care professional, that relate to— 2 ‘‘(A) the diagnosis, prevention, or treat- 3 ment of any human disease or impairment; or 4 ‘‘(B) the assessment or care of the health 5 of a human being. 6 ‘‘(5) The term ‘State’ includes each of the sev- 7 eral States, the District of Columbia, the Common- 8 wealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, 9 American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, 10 and any other territory or possession of the United 11 States. 12 ‘‘(6)(A) The term ‘volunteer’ means a health 13 care professional who, with respect to the health 14 care services rendered, does not receive— 15 ‘‘(i) compensation; or 16 ‘‘(ii) any other thing of value in lieu of 17 compensation, in excess of $500 per year. 18 ‘‘(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), the 19 term ‘compensation’— 20 ‘‘(i) includes payment under any insurance 21 policy or health plan, or under any Federal or 22 State health benefits program; and 23 ‘‘(ii) excludes— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:51 May 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2819.IH H2819 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2819 IH ‘‘(I) reasonable reimbursement or al- 1 lowance for expenses actually incurred; 2 ‘‘(II) receipt of paid leave; and 3 ‘‘(III) receipt of items to be used ex- 4 clusively for rendering the health services 5 in the health care professional’s capacity 6 as a volunteer described in subsection 7 (a)(1).’’. 8 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 224A of the Public 10 Health Service Act, as added by subsection (a), shall 11 take effect 90 days after the date of the enactment 12 of this Act. 13 (2) APPLICATION.—Section 224A of the Public 14 Health Service Act, as added by subsection (a), ap- 15 plies to a claim for harm only if the act or omission 16 that caused such harm occurred on or after the ef- 17 fective date described in paragraph (1). 18 SEC. 3. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS. 19 It is the sense of Congress that— 20 (1) health care professionals should be encour- 21 aged to register with the Emergency System for Ad- 22 vance Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals 23 (ESAR–VHP), and States should employ online reg- 24 istration with the promptest processing possible of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:51 May 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2819.IH H2819 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2819 IH such registrations to foster the rapid deployment 1 and utilization of volunteer health care professionals 2 following a disaster; 3 (2) Federal and State agencies and licensing 4 boards should cooperate to facilitate the timely 5 movement of properly licensed volunteer health care 6 professionals to areas affected by a disaster; and 7 (3) the appropriate licensing entities should 8 verify the licenses of volunteer health care profes- 9 sionals serving disaster victims as soon as is reason- 10 ably practical following a disaster. 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:51 May 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2819.IH H2819 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS