The AAMC joined other hospital groups in a May 7 letter to House and Senate leadership asking that they support liability provisions in the next COVID-19 legislative package aimed at protecting front-line providers.
The American Hospital Association, the Federation of American Hospitals, and America’s Essential Hospitals were among the eight groups that signed the letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).
The letter explains that COVID-19 is an unprecedented health care crisis to which health care facilities and professionals are responding. Despite state actions to shield these providers from undue legal exposure, a federal solution is necessary to ensure consistency for providers across the nation. The letter asks that Congress “consider provisions to shield from unwarranted liability the facilities and providers responding in good faith to prepare for and treat patients during the pandemic.” It says that protections should not “apply to situations where there is gross negligence or other misconduct.”
Congress is expected to continue working on another comprehensive legislative package to respond to the COVID-19 emergency in the coming weeks.