Sec. 103. Liability protections for health professional volunteers at Indian Health Service
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Section 224 of the Public Health Service Act ( 42 U.S.C. 233 ) is amended by adding at the end the following: For purposes of this section, an employee of an IHS urban Indian health program and a health professional volunteer at a Service unit shall, in providing a health service to an individual, be deemed to be an employee of the Public Health Service for a calendar year that begins during a fiscal year for which a transfer was made under paragraph (4)(C). The preceding sentence is subject to the provisions of this subsection.
In providing a health service to an individual, a health care practitioner shall, for purposes of this subsection, be considered to be a health professional volunteer at a Service unit if all of the following conditions are met: The service is provided to the individual at the facilities of a Service unit, or through offsite programs or events carried out by the Service unit. The Service unit is sponsoring the health care practitioner pursuant to paragraph (3)(C). The health care practitioner does not receive any compensation for the service from the individual, the Service unit, or any third-party payer (including reimbursement under any insurance policy or health plan, or under any Federal or State health benefits program), except that the health care practitioner may receive repayment from the Service unit for reasonable expenses incurred by the health care practitioner in the provision of the service to the individual.
Before the service is provided, the health care practitioner or the Service unit posts a clear and conspicuous notice at the site where the service is provided of the extent to which the legal liability of the health care practitioner is limited under this subsection. At the time the service is provided, the health care practitioner is licensed, certified, credentialed, and privileged in accordance with Service policy and applicable law regarding the provision of the service.
Subsection
(g)(other than paragraphs
(3)and (5)) and subsections (h), (i), and
(l)apply to an employee of an IHS urban Indian health program and to a health care practitioner at a Service unit for purposes of this subsection to the same extent and in the same manner as such subsections apply to an officer, governing board member, employee, or contractor of an entity described in subsection (g)(4), subject to paragraph
(4)and subject to the following subparagraphs: Each reference to an entity in subsections (g), (h), (i), and
(l)shall be considered to be a reference to an IHS urban Indian health program or a Service unit, as applicable. The first sentence of paragraph
(1)applies in lieu of the first sentence of subsection (g)(1)(A). With respect to a Service unit, a health care practitioner is not a health professional volunteer at the Service unit unless the Service unit sponsors the health care practitioner. For purposes of this subsection, the Service unit shall be considered to be sponsoring the health care practitioner if— with respect to the health care practitioner, the Service unit submits to the Secretary an application meeting the requirements of subsection (g)(1)(D); and the Secretary, pursuant to subsection (g)(1)(E), determines that the health care practitioner is deemed to be an employee of the Public Health Service. In the case of a health care practitioner who is determined by the Secretary pursuant to this subsection and subsection (g)(1)(E) to be a health professional volunteer, this subsection applies to the health care practitioner (with respect to services performed on behalf of the Service unit sponsoring the health care practitioner pursuant to subparagraph (C)) for any cause of action arising from an act or omission of the health care practitioner occurring on or after the date on which the Secretary makes that determination. Subsection (g)(1)(F) applies to a health care practitioner for purposes of this subsection only to the extent that, in providing health services to an individual, each of the conditions described in paragraph
(2)is met. Amounts in the fund established under subsection (k)(2) shall be available for transfer under subparagraph
(C)for purposes of carrying out this subsection. Not later than May 1 of each fiscal year, the Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary, shall submit to Congress a report providing an estimate of the amount of claims (together with related fees and expenses of witnesses) that, by reason of the acts or omissions of employees of an IHS urban Indian health program or health professional volunteers, will be paid pursuant to this section during the calendar year that begins in the following fiscal year. Subsection (k)(1)(B) applies to the estimate under clause
(i)relating to employees of an IHS urban Indian health program or health professional volunteers to the same extent and in the same manner as that subsection applies to the estimate under that subsection relating to officers, governing board members, employees, and contractors of entities described in subsection (g)(4). Not later than December 31 of each fiscal year, the Secretary shall transfer from the fund under subsection (k)(2) to the appropriate accounts in the Treasury an amount equal to the estimate made under subparagraph
(B)for the calendar year beginning in that fiscal year, subject to the extent of amounts in the fund. In this subsection, the term IHS urban Indian health program means an urban Indian health program operated by an urban Indian organization pursuant to a grant or contract with the Indian Health Service under title V of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act ( 25 U.S.C. 1651 et seq.). In this subsection, the term Service unit has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act ( 25 U.S.C. 1603 ). Nothing in this subsection may be construed— to negatively impact the right of an Indian Tribe to enter into a compact or contract under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act ( 25 U.S.C. 5304 et seq.); and to apply to such a compact or contract unless expressly agreed to by the Indian Tribe. Except as provided in subparagraph (B), this subsection shall take effect on October 1, 2019. Effective on the date of the enactment of the Restoring Accountability in the Indian Health Service Act of 2018 , the Secretary may— prescribe regulations for carrying out this subsection; and accept and consider applications submitted under paragraph (3)(C)(i). .
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Sec. 103
Liability protections for health professional volunteers at Indian Health Service
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