Newly Introduced Good Samaritan Legislation Supported by Health Coalition

WASHINGTON, May 14, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Health Coalition on Liability and Access today announced its support for the Good Samaritan Health Professionals Act, introduced as S. 1350 by Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), in order to better facilitate access to care when it is needed most.

The Good Samaritan Health Professionals Act would help protect medical volunteers from lawsuits during a large-scale disaster, and ensure that vital health care services are available to disaster victims without altering liability laws that may currently exist in a particular state.

"Health care professionals often seek out opportunities to assist when disaster strikes ? but the threat of liability lawsuits may limit their ability to provide care or cause them to be turned away altogether," said HCLA Chair Mike Stinson. "This legislation better protects patients and victims of catastrophic events by ensuring health care providers can volunteer to provide critical care services outside of their home state."

S. 1350 was introduced with bipartisan support to reduce the threat of medical lawsuit abuse. The bill is co-sponsored by Senators Angus King (I-ME), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Joe Manchin (D-WV).

Support for the bill has derived from current inconsistencies in state laws that result in a reduction of health care professionals available to treat disaster victims, especially when applied to large-scale disasters that may cross state lines and affect patient care.

The HCLA will continue efforts to introduce similar legislation in the House of Representatives and work to drive lasting reform to federal medical liability laws.

For more details, visit www.hcla.org. The Health Coalition on Liability and Access is a national advocacy coalition representing physicians, hospitals, health care liability insurers, employers, health care providers and consumers. HCLA believes federal legislation is needed to bring fairness, timeliness and cost-effectiveness to America's medical liability system.

SOURCE The Health Coalition on Liability and Access