August 30, 2024
The Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medical Association (PALTmed), along with a long list of members of the Health Coalition on Liability and Access (HCLA), supports bipartisan Good Samaritan legislation and continues to advocate for additional cosponsors. They highlight the need to empower medical volunteers to deliver health care during large-scale disasters.
H.R. 2819, the Good Samaritan Health Professionals Act, is long overdue and would ensure that health-care services are readily available during future health emergencies and disasters.
“When disaster strikes, medical professionals stand ready to help, often while facing circumstances where information, supplies and communications are sorely lacking,” said the HCLA letter. “Despite these difficulties, they are not only willing to help but to volunteer to face numerous risks in serving those who are most impacted by tragic circumstances. Inconsistencies in current federal and state laws, however, could subject medical volunteers who serve during disasters and large-scale emergencies to the risk of unjust medical liability lawsuits.”
Two physician members of Congress, Reps. Larry Bucshon (R-IN) and Raul Ruiz (D-CA) have introduced H.R. 2819 to correct this problem.
The legislation reconciles current inconsistencies in state laws that may reduce the ability of health-care professionals to be available to treat disaster victims, especially when applied to large-scale disasters that may cross state lines and affect patient care.