Latest Stimulus Bill Would Offer Vital Liability Protections for Healthcare Professionals, Facilities
(Rockville, MD, September 9, 2020)—The Medical Professional Liability Association (MPL Association) President and CEO Brian K. Atchinson issued the following statement
about the stimulus package introduced in the Senate yesterday that contained liability protections for healthcare workers and facilities:
“The liability protections included in the latest stimulus package are vital for the healthcare providers who have been working so tirelessly to address COVID-19 while maintaining access to our healthcare system. This provision, the SAFE TO WORK Act, would relieve the threat that frontline healthcare professionals, and the facilities in which they serve, face from unwarranted lawsuits in the weeks and months ahead despite their selfless efforts during this national health catastrophe. Furthermore, the proposal does this while ensuring victims of gross negligence or willful misconduct may still be compensated for injuries they suffer. Federal action is critical given the current patchwork of state laws and executive orders that leave those responding on unequal footing depending on where they practice.
The MPL Association urges Congress to act on this legislation and protect clinicians so they may continue to make critical decisions for the patients and communities they have committed to serve.”