MCAP Act
Latest action · Jan 22, 2013 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
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.
- IntroducedJan 22, 2013
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Medical Care Access Protection Act of 2013 or MCAP Act - Prescribes requirements for lawsuits for health care liability claims related to the provision of health care 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 its 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 2
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jan 22, 2013 to Mar 5, 2013, with 1 there on the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-OK | James M. Inhofe | Original | Jan 22, 2013 |
| R-LA | David Vitter | Mar 5, 2013 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jan 22, 2013Introduced in Senate
- Jan 22, 2013Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Related bills 2
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 1860 | STAR Act of 2013 | Related bill | Dec 19, 2013 |
| HR 3622 | Patient Centered Healthcare Savings Act of 2013 | Related bill | Jan 27, 2014 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Law.
- Alternative dispute resolution, mediation, arbitration
- Civil actions and liability
- Drug safety, medical device, and laboratory regulation
- Evidence and witnesses
- Health care costs and insurance
- Health care coverage and access
- Health care quality
- Health personnel
- Health technology, devices, supplies
- Law
- Legal fees and court costs
- Product safety and quality
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jan 22, 2013Introduced in Senate
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.