# Health Care Practitioner Disaster Protection Act

When disasters strike—whether it's a hurricane, pandemic, or other major emergency—communities need all the medical help they can get. This bill makes it easier for volunteer doctors, nurses, and other health professionals to help out at different health centers during these crises without getting tangled up in legal red tape.

Here's the practical problem this solves: Right now, when a health professional volunteers at a community health center, they're covered by federal liability protection (meaning they can't be sued for most things that go wrong while they're helping). But if that same volunteer moves to a different health center to help during an emergency, the legal protection can get murky. This bill clarifies that volunteers can move between community health centers during declared emergencies and keep their legal protection the whole time. The only requirement is that the new health center notifies the federal government within 15 days that they've brought in this volunteer.

The protection lasts for up to 90 days or until the emergency ends—whichever comes first. This applies to any officially declared emergency, whether it's declared by the President or the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The goal is simple: remove barriers that might discourage medical professionals from volunteering where they're needed most during crises. By making the legal situation clear, the bill encourages more doctors and nurses to step up and help communities in their time of greatest need.

Health Care Practitioner Disaster Protection Act

Barr, Andy

Health Care Practitioner Disaster Protection Act This bill extends certain liability protections available for health care practitioners who provide voluntary health care services in declared emergencies through a community health center other than the one that initially sponsored them. Current law makes the liability protections available to volunteer practitioners that are sponsored by a particular community health center. This bill maintains the liability protections for a volunteer practitioner who provides services through a different community health center if the center (1) seeks the assistance of the volunteer practitioner to respond to a declared emergency, and (2) promptly notifies the Department of Health and Human Services that the volunteer practitioner will be providing services.