In a letter to the bipartisan leadership of both the US House and Senate, the Alliance of Specialty Medicine called on Congress to provide additional medical liability protections for physicians in the next legislative response to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the recently passed CARES Act incorporated important protections for volunteer physicians during the COVID-19 crisis, the Alliance remains concerned with issues related to potential medical liability. Therefore, they asked for the following in the next COVID relief package:
• Provide physicians immunity from civil liability for any injury or death alleged to have been sustained because of any acts or omissions undertaken in good faith while responding to the COVID-19 pandemic;
• Address issues resulting from delayed care;
• Ensure that liability protections are appropriately extended to physicians who come out of retirement and for physicians practicing outside their specialty area as necessary to fight coronavirus during this unprecedented time;
• Provide specific protections for following government orders/guidance;
• Include an effective date retroactive to the date the national emergency was declared (i.e., January 31, 2020 retroactive to January 27, 2020).; and
• Maintain vital protections for those who are victims of acts of gross negligence or willful misconduct.
The letter to Congress can be accessed by clicking on the link below:
Alliance Letter to Congress on COVID-19 Liability Protections
