The American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons
(CNS) would like to express their strong support for H.R. 1876, the Good Samaritan Health Professionals
Act of 2017, and would like to thank the subcommittee for holding a hearing on this bipartisan legislation.
Introduced by Reps. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and David Scott (D-Ga.), this bill is designed to provide
liability protections to out-of-state volunteer health professionals (VHPs), including physicians, who
volunteer to assist victims of federally declared disasters.
As defined by the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (P.L. 93-288), the
President is authorized to issue major disaster declarations in response to certain incidents that
overwhelm the capabilities of tribal, state, and local governments. Swift and timely medical response in a
disaster or terrorist attack can significantly decrease the loss of life and improve outcomes for patients
who desperately need care.
While neurosurgeons have a long history of stepping forward to assist disaster victims, medical
volunteers are often turned away due to the inconsistency of Good Samaritan laws and confusion and
uncertainty about the application of these laws. This was, unfortunately, evident during the aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina in 2005 when thousands of physicians were prevented from helping those most in
need. Sadly, this lack of state uniformity has hindered the ability of VHPs to provide care, and in many
cases, physicians could not provide these critical services — even if they wanted to — due to lack of
liability protections. H.R. 1876 will help ensure that health professionals who volunteer their services in
future disasters will not face similar uncertainties, thereby allowing them to focus on providing aid to
victims.
Specifically, this bill would provide VHPs with the level of civil immunity that they have in their home state
when they provide this urgently needed care. Removing these barriers will allow neurosurgeons, in
particular, with their training in trauma and emergency care, to provide Americans with access to high quality specialty care during a declared crisis.
It is also notable that during these disasters the timely verification of health professional’s licensure is not
always possible. H.R. 1876 expresses a sense of Congress that the appropriate entities should verify the
licenses as soon as is reasonably practical
…
Read full article here
