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SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF PAYMENT OF FUTURE DAM-
AGES TO CLAIMANTS IN HEALTH CARE LAW-
SUITS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—In any health care lawsuit, if an 
award of future damages, without reduction to present 
value, equaling or exceeding $50,000 is made against a 
party with sufficient insurance or other assets to fund a 
periodic payment of such a judgment, the court shall, at 
the request of any party, enter a judgment ordering that 
the future damages be paid by periodic payments. In any 
health care lawsuit, the court may be guided by the Uni-
form Periodic Payment of Judgments Act promulgated by 
the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform 
State Laws. 
(b) APPLICABILITY.—This section applies to all ac-
tions which have not been first set for trial or retrial be-
fore the effective date of this Act. 
SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION SYS-
TEM; ADR.—The term ‘‘alternative dispute resolution 
system’’ or ‘‘ADR’’ means a system that provides 
for the resolution of health care lawsuits in a man-
ner other than through a civil action brought in a 
State or Federal court.
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(2) CLAIMANT.—The term ‘‘claimant’’ means 
any person who brings a health care lawsuit, includ-
ing a person who asserts or claims a right to legal 
or equitable contribution, indemnity or subrogation, 
arising out of a health care liability claim or action, 
and any person on whose behalf such a claim is as-
serted or such an action is brought, whether de-
ceased, incompetent, or a minor. 
(3) COLLATERAL
SOURCE
BENEFITS.—The 
term ‘‘collateral source benefits’’ means any amount 
paid or reasonably likely to be paid in the future to 
or on behalf of the claimant, or any service, product 
or other benefit provided or reasonably likely to be 
provided in the future to or on behalf of the claim-
ant, as a result of the injury or wrongful death, pur-
suant to—
(A) any State or Federal health, sickness, 
income-disability, accident, or workers’ com-
pensation law; 
(B) any health, sickness, income-disability, 
or accident insurance that provides health bene-
fits or income-disability coverage; 
(C) any contract or agreement of any 
group, organization, partnership, or corporation 
to provide, pay for, or reimburse the cost of
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medical, hospital, dental, or income disability 
benefits; and 
(D) any other publicly or privately funded 
program. 
(4) 
COMPENSATORY
DAMAGES.—The 
term 
‘‘compensatory 
damages’’ 
means 
objectively 
verifiable monetary losses incurred as a result of the 
provision of, use of, or payment for (or failure to 
provide, use, or pay for) health care services or med-
ical products, such as past and future medical ex-
penses, loss of past and future earnings, cost of ob-
taining domestic services, loss of employment, and 
loss of business or employment opportunities, dam-
ages for physical and emotional pain, suffering, in-
convenience, physical impairment, mental anguish, 
disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of soci-
ety and companionship, loss of consortium (other 
than loss of domestic service), hedonic damages, in-
jury to reputation, and all other nonpecuniary losses 
of any kind or nature. The term ‘‘compensatory 
damages’’ includes economic damages and non-
economic damages, as such terms are defined in this 
section. 
(5) CONTINGENT FEE.—The term ‘‘contingent 
fee’’ includes all compensation to any person or per-
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sons which is payable only if a recovery is effected 
on behalf of one or more claimants. 
(6) ECONOMIC DAMAGES.—The term ‘‘economic 
damages’’ means objectively verifiable monetary 
losses incurred as a result of the provision of, use 
of, or payment for (or failure to provide, use, or pay 
for) health care services or medical products, such as 
past and future medical expenses, loss of past and 
future earnings, cost of obtaining domestic services, 
loss of employment, and loss of business or employ-
ment opportunities. 
(7) 
HEALTH
CARE
LAWSUIT.—The 
term 
‘‘health care lawsuit’’ means any health care liability 
claim concerning the provision of health care goods 
or services or any medical product affecting inter-
state commerce, or any health care liability action 
concerning the provision of health care goods or 
services or any medical product affecting interstate 
commerce, brought in a State or Federal court or 
pursuant to an alternative dispute resolution system, 
against a health care provider, a health care organi-
zation, or the manufacturer, distributor, supplier, 
marketer, promoter, or seller of a medical product, 
regardless of the theory of liability on which the 
claim is based, or the number of claimants, plain-
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tiffs, defendants, or other parties, or the number of 
claims or causes of action, in which the claimant al-
leges a health care liability claim. Such term does 
not include a claim or action which is based on 
criminal liability; which seeks civil fines or penalties 
paid to Federal, State, or local government; or which 
is grounded in antitrust. 
(8) HEALTH
CARE
LIABILITY
ACTION.—The 
term ‘‘health care liability action’’ means a civil ac-
tion brought in a State or Federal Court or pursu-
ant to an alternative dispute resolution system, 
against a health care provider, a health care organi-
zation, or the manufacturer, distributor, supplier, 
marketer, promoter, or seller of a medical product, 
regardless of the theory of liability on which the 
claim is based, or the number of plaintiffs, defend-
ants, or other parties, or the number of causes of ac-
tion, in which the claimant alleges a health care li-
ability claim. 
(9) HEALTH
CARE
LIABILITY
CLAIM.—The 
term ‘‘health care liability claim’’ means a demand 
by any person, whether or not pursuant to ADR, 
against a health care provider, health care organiza-
tion, or the manufacturer, distributor, supplier, mar-
keter, promoter, or seller of a medical product, in-
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cluding, but not limited to, third-party claims, cross-
claims, counter-claims, or contribution claims, which 
are based upon the provision of, use of, or payment 
for (or the failure to provide, use, or pay for) health 
care services or medical products, regardless of the 
theory of liability on which the claim is based, or the 
number of plaintiffs, defendants, or other parties, or 
the number of causes of action. 
(10) HEALTH CARE ORGANIZATION.—The term 
‘‘health care organization’’ means any person or en-
tity which is obligated to provide or pay for health 
benefits under any health plan, including any person 
or entity acting under a contract or arrangement 
with a health care organization to provide or admin-
ister any health benefit. 
(11) HEALTH
CARE
PROVIDER.—The term 
‘‘health care provider’’ means any person or entity 
required by State or Federal laws or regulations to 
be licensed, registered, or certified to provide health 
care services, and being either so licensed, reg-
istered, or certified, or exempted from such require-
ment by other statute or regulation. 
(12) HEALTH CARE GOODS OR SERVICES.—The 
term ‘‘health care goods or services’’ means any 
goods or services provided by a health care organiza-