Bill Sponsor
BILLSPONSOR
Bill Sponsor
Politicians
Bills
House Bill 1215
115th Congress(2017-2018)
Protecting Access to Care Act of 2017
Active
Amendments
Active
Passed House on Jun 28, 2017
Overview
Text
Sponsor
Republican
Introduced
Feb 24, 2017
Latest Action
Jun 29, 2017
Origin Chamber
House
Type
Bill
Bill
The primary form of legislative measure used to propose law. Depending on the chamber of origin, bills begin with a designation of either H.R. or S. Joint resolution is another form of legislative measure used to propose law.
Bill Number
1215
Congress
115
Policy Area
Health
Health
Primary focus of measure is science or practice of the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease; health services administration and funding, including such programs as Medicare and Medicaid; health personnel and medical education; drug use and safety; health care coverage and insurance; health facilities. Measures concerning controlled substances and drug trafficking may fall under Crime and Law Enforcement policy area.
Sponsorship by Party
Republican
Steve King
Iowa
Republican
Bill Flores
Texas
Republican
Lamar Smith
Texas
Republican
Bob Goodlatte
Virginia
House Votes (2)
Senate Votes (0)
Question
On Passage
Status
Passed
Type
Roll Call Vote
Roll Call Vote
A vote that records the individual position of each Member who voted. Such votes occurring on the House floor (by the "yeas and nays" or by "recorded vote") are taken by electronic device. The Senate has no electronic voting system; in such votes, Senators answer "yea" or "nay" as the clerk calls each name aloud. Each vote is compiled by clerks and receives a roll call number (referenced in Congress.gov as a "Record Vote" [Senate] or "Roll no." [House]).
Roll Call Type
Recorded Vote
Roll Number
337
House Roll Call Votes
Summary

Protecting Access to Care Act of 2017

This bill establishes provisions governing health care lawsuits where coverage for the care was provided or subsidized by the federal government, including through a subsidy or tax benefit. The bill does not preempt certain state laws and federal vaccine injury laws and rules.

The statute of limitations is three years after the injury or one year after the claimant discovers the injury, whichever occurs first. For a minor, the statute of limitations is three years after the injury, except for a minor under six years old, for whom it is three years after the injury, one year after discovery of the injury, or the minor's eighth birthday, whichever occurs later. These limitations are tolled under certain circumstances.

Noneconomic damages are limited to $250,000. Juries may not be informed of this limitation. Parties are liable for the amount of damages directly proportional to their responsibility. These provisions do not preempt state laws that specify a particular monetary amount of damages.

Courts must supervise the payment of damages and may restrict attorney contingency fees. The bill sets limits on contingency fees.

Certain evidence regarding collateral source benefits (e.g., insurance payments) may be introduced in lawsuits involving injury or wrongful death. Providers of collateral source benefits may not recover any amount from the claimant in such a lawsuit. These provisions do not apply if Medicare is a secondary payer or there is third party liability for Medicaid services.

The bill provides for periodic payment of future damage awards.

A health care provider who prescribes, or dispenses pursuant to a prescription, a medical product approved by the Food and Drug Administration may not be a party to a product liability lawsuit or a class action lawsuit regarding the medical product.
Text (4)
Referred in Senate
June 29, 2017
Engrossed in House
June 28, 2017
Reported in House
March 22, 2017
Introduced in House
February 24, 2017
Amendments (5)
Jun 28, 2017
Not Agreed to in House
1
Sponsorship
House Amendment 153
Amendment sought to give affirmative defense to defendants in health care liability cases if they can show they complied with clinical practice guidelines.
Active
Jun 28, 2017
Agreed to in House
1
Sponsorship
House Amendment 152
Amendment allows a physician to apologize to a patient for an unintended outcome without having the apology count against them in the court of law. The amendment requires a plaintiff to provide a notice of intent to the physician 90 days before the lawsuit is filed. Finally, the amendment defers to sundry state laws regarding lawsuits and outlines requirements witnesses must meet for testimony during trial.
Agreed To
Jun 28, 2017
Agreed to in House
1
Sponsorship
House Amendment 151
An amendment numbered 3 printed in House Report 115-179 to limit who qualifies as an expert witness in medical malpractice negligence cases, based on professional qualifications as well as geographic relation to where the case in chief is being litigated.
Agreed To
Jun 28, 2017
Agreed to in House
1
Sponsorship
House Amendment 150
An amendment numbered 2 printed in House Report 115-179 to clarify that health care services as defined in H.R. 1215 include safety, professional, and administrative services directly related to health care.
Agreed To
Jun 28, 2017
Agreed to in House
1
Sponsorship
House Amendment 149
An amendment numbered 1 printed in House Report 115-179 to begin the tolling of the statute of limitations on the date of the alleged breach or tort, rather than the date of the injury, which is not always a date certain. The statute of limits will be three years after the alleged breach or one year after the claimant discovers the breach, whichever occurs first.
Agreed To
Related Bills (2)
Jun 27, 2017
Passed House
1
Sponsorship
House Simple Resolution 382
Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 1215) to improve patient access to health care services and provide improved medical care by reducing the excessive burden the liability system places on the health care delivery system.
Active
Type
Procedurally-Related Measure
Procedurally-Related Measure
Legislation that affects consideration of other legislation (e.g., a rule for consideration, a bill ordered to be reported or passed in lieu of another measure). Identical bills, companion measures, and legislation with text similarities are other related bill types.
Identified By
House
Mar 23, 2017
Introduced in House
3
Sponsorship
House Bill 1704
ACCESS Act of 2017
Introduced
Type
Related Bill
Related Bill
A related bill may be a companion measure, an identical bill, a procedurally-related measure, or one with text similarities. Bill relationships are identified by the House, the Senate, or CRS, and refer only to same-Congress measures.
Identified By
CRS
Public Record
Record Updated
Jan 11, 2023 1:35:05 PM
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