Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act of 2005
Latest action · Feb 25, 2005 Referred to the Subcommittee on Health, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Chairman.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedFeb 2, 2005
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Help Efficient, Accessible, Low Cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act of 2005 -Sets forth provisions regulating lawsuits for health care liability claims concerning the provision of health care goods or services or any medical product affecting interstate commerce.
Sets a statute of limitations of three years after the date of manifestation of injury or one year after the claimant discovers the injury, with certain exceptions.
Provides that nothing in this Act limits recovery of the full amount of available economic damages. Limits noneconomic damages to $250,000. Makes each party liable only for the amount of damages directly proportional to such party's percentage of responsibility.
Allows the court to restrict the payment of attorney contingency fees. Limits the fees to a decreasing percentage based on the increasing value of the amount awarded.
Prescribes qualifications for expert witnesses.
Allows the introduction of collateral source benefits and the amount paid to secure such benefits as evidence. Prohibits a provider of such benefits from recovering any amount from an award in a health care lawsuit involving injury or wrongful death.
Authorizes the award of punitive damages only where: (1) it is proven by clear and convincing evidence that a person acted with malicious intent to injure the claimant or deliberately failed to avoid unnecessary injury the claimant was substantially certain to suffer; and (2) compensatory damages are awarded. Limits punitive damages to the greater of two times the amount of economic damages or $250,000.
Limits the liability of manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, and providers of medical products that comply with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) standards.
Provides for periodic payments of future damage awards.
Cosponsors 141
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Feb 2, 2005 to Jun 22, 2005, with 125 there on the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-FL | Ander Crenshaw | Original | Feb 2, 2005 |
| R-KY | Anne M. Northup | Original | Feb 2, 2005 |
| R-WY | Barbara Cubin | Original | Feb 2, 2005 |
| R-PA | Bill Shuster | Original | Feb 2, 2005 |
| R-CO | Bob Beauprez | Original | Feb 2, 2005 |
| R-ID | C. L. (Butch) Otter | Original | Feb 2, 2005 |
| R-NH | Charles F. Bass | Original | Feb 2, 2005 |
| R-NC | Charles H. Taylor | Original | Feb 2, 2005 |
| R-PA | Charles W. Dent | Original | Feb 2, 2005 |
| R-UT | Chris Cannon | Original | Feb 2, 2005 |
| R-IN | Chris Chocola | Original | Feb 2, 2005 |
| R-NJ | Christopher H. Smith | Original | Feb 2, 2005 |
| R-CT | Christopher Shays | Original | Feb 2, 2005 |
| R-FL | Cliff Stearns | Original | Feb 2, 2005 |
| D-MN | Collin C. Peterson | Original | Feb 2, 2005 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Feb 25, 2005Referred to the Subcommittee on Health, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Chairman.
- Feb 2, 2005Introduced in House
- Feb 2, 2005Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Related bills 5
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 5 | Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act of 2005 | Identical bill | Jul 29, 2005 |
| S 354 | HEALTH Act of 2005 | Related bill | Feb 17, 2005 |
| S 366 | Healthy Mothers and Healthy Babies Access to Care Act of 2005 | Related bill | Feb 10, 2005 |
| S 367 | Pregnancy and Trauma Care Access Protection Act of 2005 | Related bill | Feb 10, 2005 |
| HR 4838 | Medical Malpractice Reform Act of 2006 | Related bill | Mar 17, 2006 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Health.
- Accident insurance
- Civil actions and liability
- Class actions (Civil procedure)
- Collection of accounts
- Commerce
- Conflict of interests
- Damages
- Drug approvals
- Drugs
- Evidence (Law)
- Federal preemption
- Finance and Financial Sector
- Fraud
- Government Operations and Politics
- Health
- Health insurance
- Labeling
- Labor and Employment
- Law
- Legal fees
- Liability (Law)
- Limitation of actions
- Medical malpractice
- Medical personnel
- Medical supplies
- Packaging
- Product safety
- Products liability
- Punitive damages
- State laws
- Vaccines
- Workers' compensation
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.