On May 7, 2021, Congressmen Lou Correa (D-CA) and Michael Burgess (R-TX) introduced H.R. 3021 – the Coronavirus Provider Protection Act. This bipartisan legislation protects healthcare workers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Act offers liability protection for healthcare providers who act in good faith and abide by government guidelines while caring for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This bipartisan federal legislation would ensure the healthcare workforce serving on the frontlines of the pandemic are not punished with unwarranted lawsuits, while maintaining necessary patient protections.
Our long-term care professionals around the country have been caring for residents under extraordinary conditions, working diligently and at great risk to provide care during the pandemic. The Act recognizes their continued sacrifices by providing targeted civil liability protection for healthcare professionals and facilities during the COVID-19 national public health emergency.
Adelman Law Firm commends Reps. Lou Correa and Michael Burgess, M.D., for introducing bipartisan legislation that ensures nursing home and other healthcare providers are afforded limited, common-sense protections from medical liability while treating patients during this public health emergency.
The Coronavirus Provider Protection Act maintains critical protections for patients harmed as a result of gross negligence or misconduct, while offering liability protection for providers. Examples of increased liability risk that providers are confronting because of COVID-19 include:
Suspensions of elective in-person visits and delays in treatment for patients with symptoms unrelated to COVID-19;
Workforce shortages that are forcing physicians to provide care outside of their general practice area;
Shortages of equipment – such as ventilators – that can result in providers having to ration care;
Delayed or inaccurate diagnosis due to inadequate testing supplies.
As discussed in The Adelman Advantage for several months now, the COVID-19 pandemic has sparked myriad state legislation providing some form of liability immunity for healthcare providers from COVID-19 -related lawsuits. We will continue to track the legislation and provide updates.
Care For Our Seniors Act
In March of this year, AHCA and LeadingAge presented to Congress the Care For Our Seniors Act, advocating for meaningful action to protect seniors and prepare for a growing elderly population that deserves a robust, quality long-term care system. The Act prioritizes four principles for nursing homes that can be applied to support better pandemic management, help prevent such devastation from happening again, and strengthen nursing home care. These policy proposals may be considered by Congress and other policymakers either as a complete legislative package, or individual policy proposals may be incorporated into other relevant legislation, so long as the necessary resources for each proposal are tied together.
The Act has four main reform principles with policy proposals in each of the key areas:
Clinical: Enhance the quality of care in nursing homes by developing clearer standards for infection preventionists, requiring that each nursing home have a registered nurse on-staff, 24-hours per day, and requiring a minimum 30-day supply of personal protective equipment in all nursing homes.
Workforce: Strengthen and support our frontline caregivers by implementing a multi-phase tiered approach to attract, retain and develop more long-term care professionals leveraging federal, state and academic institutions.
Oversight: Implement improvements establishing a more resident-driven system by developing an effective oversight system and processes that support better care and protect residents. This would include implementing a process to help turn around or close facilities that are chronic poor performers and adding customer satisfaction to the government’s five-star rating system to help monitor the quality of a facility for family members and guide consumer choice.
Structural: Modernize nursing homes by conducting a national study on how to shift to more private rooms, which promote resident privacy, autonomy and dignity, as well as support infection control best practices.
The pandemic has forced a Call-to-Action in long-term care. Both the Coronavirus Provider Protection Act and the Care For Our Seniors Act are examples of ways that we can make a difference for our healthcare providers, protecting them from liability and improving the healthcare system by prioritizing long-term care for our seniors and others who are in need of skilled nursing.
Stay tuned for updates and for Adelman Law Firm initiatives that align with quality long-term care systems.
