Subject: “Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act of 2018”
Dear Chairman Alexander, Ranking Member Murray, Senator Burr, and Senator Casey:
On behalf of a diverse coalition of medical professionals and associations working to reduce medical
lawsuit abuse and improve timely access to quality care, the Health Coalition on Liability and Access
(HCLA) would like to thank you for giving us an opportunity to comment on the discussion draft of the
Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act of 2018.
Over the past year, large-scale disasters have included the wildfires of California and the hurricanes and
subsequent flooding of Texas, the Gulf Coast and Puerto Rico. These events highlight the need to ensure
that disaster victims have adequate access to medical volunteers during their time of need. While we
appreciate your inclusion of proposed language to enhance the Emergency System for Advance
Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals and the National Disaster Medical System, we believe
that additional language is needed to address inconsistencies in current federal and state laws that could
subject medical volunteers to unjust medical liability lawsuits when they volunteer their services to
disaster victims.
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