,,ii  #aacth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #baif  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,april #a1     
#bjad ,ms4 ,murkowski introduced the    
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on ,health1 
,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions  ,a   
,,bill  ,to amend the ,public ,health   
,service ,act to limit the liability of 
health care professionals who volunteer 
to provide health care services in      
response to a disaster4  #a4  ,short    
title  ,this ,act may be cited as the   
,good ,samaritan ,health ,professionals 
,act of #bjad4  #b4  ,limitation on     
liability for volunteer health care     
professionals  7a7  ,in general  ,title 
,,ii of the ,public ,health ,service    
,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bjb et seq47 is    
amended by inserting after section #bbd 
the following3  #bbd;,a4  ,limitation on
 liability for volunteer health care    
professionals  7a7  ,limitation on      
liability  ,except as provided in       
subsection 7b71 a health care           

professional shall not be liable under  
,federal or ,state law for any harm     
caused by an act or omission of the     
professional if--  7#a7 the professional
 is serving as a volunteer for purposes 
of responding to a disaster2 and  7#b7  
the act or omission occurs--  7,a7      
during the period of the disaster1 as   
determined under the laws listed in     
subsection 7f77#a72  7,b7 in the health 
care professional's capacity as such a  
volunteer2 and  7,c7 in a good faith    
belief that the individual being treated
 is in need of health care services4    
7b7  ,exceptions  ,subsection 7a7 does  
not apply if--  7#a7 the harm was caused
 by an act or omission constituting     
willful or criminal misconduct1 gross   
negligence1 reckless misconduct1 or a   
conscious flagrant indifference to the  
rights or safety of the individual      
harmed by the health care professional2 
or  7#b7 the health care professional   
rendered the health care services under 
the influence 7as determined pursuant to

 applicable ,state law7 of intoxicating 
alcohol or an intoxicating drug4  7c7   
,standard of proof  ,in any civil action
 or proceeding against a health care    
professional claiming that the          
limitation in subsection 7a7 applies1   
the plaintiff shall have the burden of  
proving by clear and convincing evidence
 the extent to which limitation does not
 apply4  7d7  ,preemption  7#a7  ,in    
general  ,this section preempts the laws
 of a ,state or any political           
subdivision of a ,state to the extent   
that such laws are inconsistent with    
this section1 unless such laws provide  
greater protection from liability4  7#b7
  ,volunteer ,protection ,act           
,protections afforded by this section   
are in addition to those provided by the
 ,volunteer ,protection ,act of #aiig4  
7e7 ,rule of construction ,nothing in   
this section shall supplant any other   
provision of ,federal1 ,state1 local1 or
 tribal law that establish liability    
schemes or liability protections that   

exceed those provided by this section1  
including without limitation the        
provisions of chapter #aga of title #bh1
 ,united ,states ,code 7commonly known  
as the ,federal ,tort ,claims ,act74    
7f7  ,definitions  ,in this section3    
7#a7 ,the term disaster means--  7,a7 a 
national emergency declared by the      
,president under the ,national          
,emergencies ,act2  7,b7 an emergency or
 major disaster declared by the         
,president under the ,robert ,t4        
,stafford ,disaster ,relief and         
,emergency ,assistance ,act2 or  7,c7 a 
public health emergency determined by   
the ,secretary under section #cai of    
this ,act4  7#b7 ,the term harm includes
 physical1 nonphysical1 economic1 and   
noneconomic losses4  7#c7 ,the term     
health care professional means an       
individual who is licensed1 certified1  
or authorized in one or more ,states to 
practice a health care profession4  7#d7
 ,the term ,state includes each of the  
several ,states1 the ,district of       

,columbia1 the ,commonwealth of ,puerto 
,rico1 the ,virgin ,islands1 ,guam1     
,american ,samoa1 the ,northern ,mariana
 ,islands1 and any other territory or   
possession of the ,united ,states4  7#e7
  7,a7 ,the term volunteer means a      
health care professional who1 with      
respect to the health care services     
rendered1 does not receive--  7i7       
compensation2 or  7ii7 any other thing  
of value in lieu of compensation1 in    
excess of #ejj per year4  7,b7 ,for     
purposes of subparagraph 7,a71 the term 
compensation--  7i7 includes payment    
under any insurance policy or health    
plan1 or under any ,federal or ,state   
health benefits program2 and  7ii7      
excludes--  7,i7 reasonable             
reimbursement or allowance for expenses 
actually incurred2  7,,ii7 receipt of   
paid leave2 and  7,,iii7 receipt of     
items to be used exclusively for        
rendering the health services in the    
health care professional's capacity as a
 volunteer described in subsection      

7a77#a74  4  7b7  ,effective date  7#a7 
,in general  ,this ,act and the         
amendment made by subsection 7a7 shall  
take effect #ij days after the date of  
the enactment of this ,act4  7#b7       
,application  ,this ,act applies to any 
claim for harm caused by an act or      
omission of a health care professional  
where the claim is filed on or after the
 effective date of this ,act1 but only  
if the harm that is the subject of the  
claim or the conduct that caused such   
harm occurred on or after such effective
 date4