H.R. 1704 · 115th Congress
ACCESS Act of 2017
Key: what the circles and colors mean
Each circle is a bill. The ring fills as it moves through Congress:
Under the number: the Yea · Nay count of its final (or latest) recorded vote. On a member's page, the small badge is how that member voted: Y Yea / Aye, N Nay / No, P Present, – Not voting.
Gold and violet are only for Yea and Nay; they never mean a party. A member's party is the letter on their photo.
Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 115th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.
R
HudsonSponsor2 cosponsors · 2 R
0 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
Accessible Care by Curbing Excessive lawSuitS Act of 2017 or the ACCESS Act of 2017
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in House · Mar 23, 2017
Accessible Care by Curbing Excessive lawSuitS Act of 2017 or the ACCESS Act of 2017
This bill establishes provisions governing health care lawsuits where coverage for the care was provided or subsidized by the federal government. The bill does not preempt certain state laws and federal vaccine injury laws and rules.
The statute of limitations is three years after the injury or one year after the claimant discovers the injury, whichever occurs first, with exceptions.
Noneconomic damages are limited to $250,000. Juries may not be informed of this limitation.
Courts must supervise the payment of damages and may restrict attorney contingency fees. The bill sets limits on contingency fees.
Certain evidence regarding collateral source benefits (e.g., insurance payments) may be introduced in lawsuits involving injury or wrongful death.
The bill provides for periodic payment of future damage awards.
A health care provider who prescribes, or dispenses pursuant to a prescription, a medical product approved by the Food and Drug Administration may not be a party to a liability lawsuit or class action lawsuit regarding the product.
Expressions of apology, fault, or sympathy by health care providers or their employees to patients or their relatives or representatives regarding suffering, injury, or death from an unanticipated outcome of care are inadmissible as evidence of liability.
A person must give a health care provider 90 days' notice before commencing a lawsuit, with exceptions.
An affidavit of merit signed by a health care professional who qualifies as an expert witness must be filed simultaneously with a lawsuit.
The bill establishes qualifications for expert witnesses.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: ACCESS Act of 2017
Also known as: Accessible Care by Curbing Excessive lawSuitS Act of 2017
Latest action (Apr 6, 2017): Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.
Policy area: Health · Origin: House · Introduced: Mar 23, 2017
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.