[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 870 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 870
To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide liability protections
for employees and contractors of health centers under section 330 of
such Act who provide health services in emergency areas.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 7, 2007
Mr. Gillmor (for himself, Ms. DeGette, and Mr. Taylor) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide liability protections
for employees and contractors of health centers under section 330 of
such Act who provide health services in emergency areas.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT; LIABILITY PROTECTIONS FOR HEALTH-
CENTER PRACTITIONERS PROVIDING SERVICES IN EMERGENCY
AREAS.
(a) In General.--Section 224(g) of the Public Health Service Act
(42 U.S.C. 233(g)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)(B)(ii), by striking ``subparagraph
(C)'' and inserting ``subparagraph (C) and paragraph (6)''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following paragraph:
``(6)(A) Subject to subparagraph (C), paragraph (1)(B)(ii) applies
to health services provided to individuals who are not patients of the
entity involved if, as determined under criteria issued by the
Secretary, the following conditions are met:
``(i) The services are provided by a contractor or employee
of the entity who is a physician or other licensed or certified
health care practitioner and who is otherwise deemed to be an
employee for purposes of paragraph (1)(A) when providing
services with respect to the entity.
``(ii) The services are provided in an emergency area (as
defined in subparagraph (D)).
``(iii) The services of the contractor or employee
(referred to in this paragraph as the `out-of-area
practitioner') are provided under an arrangement with--
``(I) an entity that is deemed to be an employee
for purposes of paragraph (1)(A) and that serves the
emergency area involved (referred to in this paragraph
as an `emergency-area entity)'; or
``(II) a Federal agency that has responsibilities
regarding the provision of health services in such area
during the emergency.
``(iv) The purposes of the arrangement are--
``(I) to coordinate, to the extent practicable, the
provision of health services in the emergency area by
the out-of-area practitioner with the provision of
services by the emergency-area entity, or by the
Federal agency, as the case may be;
``(II) to identify a location in the emergency area
to which such practitioner should report for purposes
of providing health services, and to identify an
individual or individuals in the area to whom the
practitioner should report for such purposes; and
``(III) to verify the identity of the practitioner
and that the practitioner is licensed or certified by
one or more of the States.
``(v) With respect to the licensure or certification of
health care practitioners, the provision of services by the
out-of-area practitioner in the emergency area is not a
violation of the law of the State in which the area is located.
``(B) In issuing criteria under subparagraph (A), the Secretary
shall take into account the need to rapidly enter into arrangements
under such subparagraph in order to provide health services in
emergency areas promptly after the emergency begins.
``(C) Subparagraph (A) applies with respect to an act or omission
of an out-of-area practitioner only to the extent that the practitioner
is not immune from liability for such act or omission under the
Volunteer Protection Act of 1997.
``(D) For purposes of this paragraph, the term `emergency area'
means a geographic area for which--
``(i) the Secretary has made a determination under section
319 that a public health emergency exists; or
``(ii) a presidential declaration of major disaster has
been issued under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.''.
(b) Effective Date.--With respect to paragraph (6) of section
224(g) of the Public Health Service Act, as added by subsection (a) of
this section:
(1) Except as provided in this subsection, an arrangement
under subparagraph (A)(iii) of such paragraph (6) is deemed to
be in effect for any health professional who, within the
meaning of such paragraph--
(A) is an employee or contractor of a health center
under section 330 of such Act; and
(B) served or is serving as an out-of-area
practitioner in any emergency area declared as a result
of Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita.
(2) Such paragraph (6) is deemed to have taken effect on
August 27, 2005, for purposes of paragraph (1) of this
subsection. Such paragraph (6) otherwise takes effect on the
date of the enactment of this Act.
(3) Paragraph (1) of this subsection applies until the
expiration of the 48-hour period beginning on the date on which
the Secretary of Health and Human Services publishes in the
Federal Register a notice that the applicability of such
paragraph is being terminated.
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