# Medical Care Equity Act: Plain Language Summary

This bill creates a tax break for doctors who provide free medical care to patients who can't pay. Specifically, it allows physicians to deduct the value of uncompensated charity care from their taxable income, starting in 2023. The deduction is calculated based on what Medicare would normally pay for those same services. So if a doctor provides emergency care or medical screening to an uninsured patient without expecting payment, they can deduct the Medicare rate for that service from their income when filing taxes, which reduces the taxes they owe.

The bill also protects doctors from lawsuits when they volunteer to provide this free care. If a physician or their medical staff provides qualified charity care and something goes wrong, they can't be sued unless their actions were grossly negligent (meaning extremely reckless or intentionally harmful). This protection applies across all states, though states can offer even stronger protections if they want. The liability protection covers emergency medical screenings, stabilizing treatment for emergency conditions, and labor-related care provided without expectation of payment.

The practical effect is a two-part incentive: doctors get a financial benefit through tax deductions for charity work, and they get legal protection from malpractice suits when providing that care. The goal appears to be encouraging physicians to treat uninsured and low-income patients without fear of financial loss or legal consequences. However, the deduction is capped—doctors can only deduct charity care up to the amount of income they actually earned from providing medical services that year, so they can't use charity care deductions to offset other income sources.

Medical Care Equity Act

Rep. Higgins, Clay [R-LA-3]

Medical Care Equity Act This bill allows a tax deduction for the unreimbursed Medicare-based value of qualified charity care (i.e., physicians' services furnished without expectation of reimbursement, including medical screenings and treatment for emergency medical conditions and labor-related treatments). The bill also specifies that a physician is not liable under federal or state law for harm caused by an act or omission of the physician, or attending medical personnel supporting the physician, if the act or omission (1) occurs in the course of furnishing charity care, and (2) was not grossly negligent. The bill preempts laws of a state or locality that are inconsistent with this exemption, unless the laws provide greater protection from liability for a defendant.