S 244 · 110th Congress 2007–2009, ended

Healthy Mothers and Healthy Babies Access to Care Act

Introduced Jan 10, 2007 Originated Senate Sponsor Judd Gregg R-NH

Fact sheet

Latest action · Jan 10, 2007 Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

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.

  1. IntroducedJan 10, 2007
  2. Passed SenateNot reached
  3. Passed HouseNot reached
  4. To the PresidentNot reached
  5. Became lawNot reached

Summary

Healthy Mothers and Healthy Babies Access to Care Act - Sets forth provisions regulating lawsuits for health care liability claims related to the provision of obstetrical or gynecological services.

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.

Requires a court to impose sanctions for the filing of frivolous lawsuits.

Limits noneconomic damages to $250,000 from the provider or health care institution, but no more than $500,000 from multiple health care institutions. 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.

Requires the court to reduce damages received by the amount of collateral source benefits to which a claimant is entitled, unless the payor of such benefits has the right to reimbursement or subrogation under federal or state law.

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.

Prohibits a health care provider from being named as a party in a product liability or class action lawsuit for prescribing or dispensing a Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved prescription drug, biological product, or medical device for an approved indication.

Provides for periodic payments of future damage awards.

Cosponsors 12

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jan 10, 2007 to Jan 11, 2007, with 11 there on the day it was introduced.

SeatCosponsorSigned on
R-NCElizabeth DoleOriginalJan 10, 2007
R-OHGeorge V. VoinovichOriginalJan 10, 2007
R-OKJames M. InhofeOriginalJan 10, 2007
R-ALJeff SessionsOriginalJan 10, 2007
R-SCJim DeMintOriginalJan 10, 2007
R-TXJohn CornynOriginalJan 10, 2007
R-NVJohn EnsignOriginalJan 10, 2007
R-SDJohn ThuneOriginalJan 10, 2007
R-TNLamar AlexanderOriginalJan 10, 2007
R-KYMitch McConnellOriginalJan 10, 2007
R-COWayne AllardOriginalJan 10, 2007
R-MSTrent LottJan 11, 2007

Actions 2

Everything that happened, newest first.

  1. Jan 10, 2007Introduced in Senate
  2. Jan 10, 2007Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Law.

Text 1

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

  1. Jan 10, 2007Introduced in Senate

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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.