On Feb. 4, the Health Coalition on Liability and Access (HCLA) urged Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee leaders to incorporate COVID-19-related liability protections in the Prepare for and Respond to Existing Viruses, Emerging New Threats (PREVENT) Pandemics Act, which is under development. The American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) serve as the vice-chair of HCLA. They have been urging Congress to pass a uniform set of liability protections — such as those included in H.R. 3021, the Coronavirus Provider Protection Act — for medical professionals who responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. The letter also urges the senators to include the Good Samaritan Health Professionals Act (S. 2941) in the PREVENT Pandemics Act (S. 3799). This legislation would provide medical liability protections to health care professionals who volunteer in a public health emergency or federally declared disaster.
In a related effort, on March 9, HCLA urged House Energy and Commerce Committee leaders to incorporate the Good Samaritan Health Professionals Act (H.R.5239) and H.R. 3021 in any future legislation regarding pandemic response following a hearing titled “Lessons from the Frontline: COVID-19s Impact on American Healthcare.”
Click here to read the Senate letter and here for the House letter.
