I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2729 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to protect certain health care 
providers against legal liability for providing emergency and related care 
to uninsured individuals. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 26, 2005 
Mr. SHADEGG introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to protect certain 
health care providers against legal liability for providing 
emergency and related care to uninsured individuals. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ensuring Access to 
Emergency Rooms Act of 2005’’. 
SEC. 2. CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY. 
The constitutional authority upon which this Act 
rests is the power of the Congress to provide for the gen-
eral welfare, to regulate commerce, and to make all laws
which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into exe-
cution Federal powers, as enumerated in section 8 of arti-
cle I of the Constitution of the United States. 
SEC. 3. PROTECTION AGAINST LEGAL LIABILITY FOR 
EMERGENCY AND RELATED SERVICES FUR-
NISHED TO UNINSURED INDIVIDUALS. 
Section 224(g) of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 233(g)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘An entity’’ 
and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Subject to paragraph 
(6), an entity’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(6)(A) For purposes of this section— 
‘‘(i) an entity described in subparagraph 
(B) shall be considered to be an entity de-
scribed in paragraph (4); and 
‘‘(ii) the provisions of this section shall 
apply to an entity described in subparagraph 
(B) in the same manner as such provisions 
apply to an entity described in paragraph (4), 
except that— 
‘‘(I) 
notwithstanding 
paragraph 
(1)(B), the deeming of any entity described 
in subparagraph (B), or of an officer, gov-
erning board member, employee, or con-
tractor of such an entity, to be an em-
ployee of the Public Health Service for 
purposes of this section shall apply only 
with respect to items and services that are 
furnished to an uninsured individual (as 
defined in subparagraph (C)) pursuant to 
section 1867 of the Social Security Act 
and to post-stabilization services (as de-
fined in subparagraph (D)) furnished to 
such an individual; 
‘‘(II) nothing in paragraph (1)(D) 
shall be construed as preventing a physi-
cian or physician group described in sub-
paragraph (B)(ii) from making the appli-
cation referred to in such paragraph or as 
conditioning the deeming of a physician or 
physician group that makes such an appli-
cation upon receipt by the Secretary of an 
application from the hospital or emergency 
department that employs or contracts with 
the physician or group; 
‘‘(III) notwithstanding paragraph (3), 
this paragraph shall apply only with re-
spect to causes of action arising from acts
or omissions that occur on or after Janu-
ary 1, 2004; 
‘‘(IV) paragraph (5) shall not apply to 
a physician or physician group described in 
subparagraph (B)(ii); 
‘‘(V) the Attorney General, in con-
sultation with the Secretary, shall make 
separate estimates under subsection (k)(1) 
with respect to entities described in sub-
paragraph (B) and entities described in 
paragraph (4) (other than those described 
in subparagraph (B)), and the Secretary 
shall establish separate funds under sub-
section (k)(2) with respect to such groups 
of entities, and any appropriations under 
this subsection for entities described in 
subparagraph (B) shall be separate from 
the amounts authorized by subsection 
(k)(2); 
‘‘(VI) 
notwithstanding 
subsection 
(k)(2), the amount of the fund established 
by the Secretary under such subsection 
with respect to entities described in sub-
paragraph (B) may exceed a total of 
$10,000,000 for a fiscal year; and
‘‘(VII) subsection (m) shall not apply 
to entities described in subparagraph (B). 
‘‘(B) An entity described in this subparagraph 
is— 
‘‘(i) a hospital or an emergency depart-
ment to which section 1867 of the Social Secu-
rity Act applies; and 
‘‘(ii) a physician or physician group that is 
employed by, or under contract with, such hos-
pital or department to furnish items and serv-
ices to individuals under such section. 
‘‘(C) For purposes of this paragraph, the term 
‘uninsured individual’ means an individual who, at 
the time treatment is provided by an entity de-
scribed in subparagraph (B) for purposes of com-
plying with section 1867 of the Social Security 
Act— 
‘‘(i) does not have coverage under— 
‘‘(I) a group health plan (as defined 
in section 2791(a)(1)); 
‘‘(II) part A or B of title XVIII of the 
Social Security Act; or 
‘‘(III) a State plan under title XIX of 
such Act; and
‘‘(ii) does not have health insurance cov-
erage (as defined in section 2791(b)(1)) from 
any other source. 
‘‘(D) For purposes of this paragraph, the term 
‘post-stabilization services’ means, with respect to an 
individual who has been treated by an entity de-
scribed in subparagraph (B) for purposes of com-
plying with section 1867 of the Social Security Act, 
services that are— 
‘‘(i) related to the condition that was so 
treated; and 
‘‘(ii) provided after the individual is sta-
bilized in order to maintain the stabilized condi-
tion or to improve or resolve the individual’s 
condition. 
‘‘(E)(i) Nothing in this paragraph (or in any 
other provision of this section as such provision ap-
plies to entities described in subparagraph (B) by 
operation of subparagraph (A)) shall be construed as 
authorizing or requiring the Secretary to make pay-
ments to such entities, the budget authority for 
which is not provided in advance by appropriation 
Acts. 
‘‘(ii) The Secretary shall limit the total amount 
of payments under this paragraph for a fiscal year
to the total amount appropriated in advance by ap-
propriation Acts for such purpose for such fiscal 
year. If the total amount of payments that would 
otherwise be made under this paragraph for a fiscal 
year exceeds such total amount appropriated, the 
Secretary shall take such steps as may be necessary 
to ensure that the total amount of payments under 
this paragraph for such fiscal year does not exceed 
such total amount appropriated.’’. 
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