Dear Senator Blunt,
On behalf of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and Congress of Neurological
Surgeons (CNS), we are pleased to support your legislation, S. 961, the Health Care Safety Net Enhancement
Act of 2013.
The Health Care Safety Net Enhancement Act of 2013 will address the growing crisis in access to emergency
care by extending liability coverage to on-call and emergency physicians through the Federal Tort Claims Act.
Specifically, the bill would ensure medical services furnished by a hospital, emergency department, physician or
on-call provider under contract with a hospital or emergency department pursuant to the Emergency Medical
Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) receive the same liability coverage currently extended to employees of
Community Health Centers and health professionals who provide Medicaid services at free clinics.
As on-call specialists, neurosurgeons perform lifesaving feats every day, often making quick, life-and-death
decisions with minimal information about the patient. This lifesaving care is inherently risky and exposes these
specialists to an increased likelihood of litigation because emergency and trauma patients are often sicker, have
more serious complications and usually have no pre-existing relationship with the emergency physician or the
on-call specialist. Unfortunately, the high-risk of being sued and the increased professional liability costs —
which are far higher than for those who do not provide such care — have reduced the pool of on-call specialists
to dangerously low levels.
Congress must act now to protect access to emergency care for all Americans, insured and uninsured alike. We
thank you for your leadership and look forward to working with you to pass this important legislation
…
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