The House Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee today approved an amended version of the Good Samaritan Health Professional Act (H.R. 1876), AHA-supported legislation that would extend liability standards under the Volunteer Protection Act of 1997 to licensed health professionals who volunteer in another state during a disaster. “This legislation is a positive step toward removing an impediment for physicians and other clinicians who would like to volunteer in another state during a disaster,” AHA Executive Vice President Tom Nickels in a letter to sponsor Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) last May. “While current state and federal laws provide some level of liability protections for licensed health care professionals administering health care services in response to a declared federal disaster, your legislation fills the gap in current law by extending liability protections to health care professionals crossing state lines to ensure people receive needed health care during such an emergency.”

Related News Articles

Chairperson's File
Public
This month Congress enacted the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — a sweeping package that contained many of President Trump’s legislative priorities on taxes,…
Headline
The AHA July 2 expressed support for the Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act (H.R. 3890), bipartisan legislation that would add 14,000 Medicare-funded…
Headline
The House July 3 voted 218-214 to pass the final version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1), which enacts many of President Trump’s legislative…
Headline
The Senate narrowly passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1) on July 1 by a 50-50 tally, with Vice President J.D. Vance casting the tie-breaking vote.…
Headline
The AHA June 29 sent a letter to senators urging them to amend the budget reconciliation bill before its final passage in the Senate. The Senate version of the…
Headline
The AHA June 16 released a fact sheet with analysis on the impact to rural patients and hospitals from proposed Medicaid cuts by Congress. The analysis found…