167 
‘‘(B) WAIVER OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS.— 
With respect to coverage described in subpara-
graph (A), no limitation on beneficiary cost- 
sharing otherwise applicable under this title or 
title XIX shall apply. 
‘‘(C) LIMITATION ON FFP.—The amount of 
the payment under paragraph (1)(C) for cov-
erage described in subparagraph (A) during a 
fiscal year in the aggregate for all such cov-
erage in the State may not exceed the product 
of— 
‘‘(i) the national per capita expendi-
ture under this title (taking into account 
both Federal and State expenditures) for 
the previous fiscal year (as determined by 
the Secretary using the best available 
data); 
‘‘(ii) the enhanced FMAP for the 
State and fiscal year involved; and 
‘‘(iii) the number of targeted low-in-
come children for whom such coverage is 
provided. 
‘‘(D) VOLUNTARY ENROLLMENT.—A State 
child health plan— 
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‘‘(i) may not require a targeted low- 
income child to enroll in coverage described 
in subparagraph (A) in order to obtain 
child health assistance under this title; 
‘‘(ii) before providing such child 
health assistance for such coverage of a 
child, shall make available (which may be 
through an Internet website or other 
means) to the parent or guardian of the 
child information on the coverage available 
under this title, including benefits and 
cost-sharing; and 
‘‘(iii) shall provide at least one oppor-
tunity per fiscal year for beneficiaries to 
switch coverage under this title from cov-
erage described in subparagraph (A) to the 
coverage that is otherwise made available 
under this title. 
‘‘(E) INFORMATION
ON
COVERAGE
OP-
TIONS.—A State child health plan shall— 
‘‘(i) describe how the State will notify 
potential beneficiaries of coverage de-
scribed in subparagraph (A); 
‘‘(ii) provide such notification in writ-
ing at least during the initial application 
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169 
for enrollment under this title and during 
redeterminations of eligibility if the indi-
vidual was enrolled before October 1, 2012; 
and 
‘‘(iii) post a description of these cov-
erage options on any official website that 
may be established by the State in connec-
tion with the plan. 
‘‘(F) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing 
in this section is to be construed to prohibit a 
State from— 
‘‘(i) establishing limits on beneficiary 
cost-sharing under such alternative cov-
erage; 
‘‘(ii) paying all or part of a bene-
ficiary’s cost-sharing requirements under 
such coverage; 
‘‘(iii) paying less than the full cost of 
a child’s share of the premium under such 
coverage, insofar as the premium for such 
coverage exceeds the limitation established 
by the State under subparagraph (C); 
‘‘(iv) using State funds to pay for 
benefits above the Federal upper limit es-
tablished under subparagraph (C); or 
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170 
‘‘(v) providing any guidance or infor-
mation it deems appropriate in order to 
help beneficiaries make an informed deci-
sion regarding the option to enroll in cov-
erage described in subparagraph (A).’’. 
(c) APPLICATION UNDER MEDICAID.—The Secretary 
of Health and Human Services shall provide for the appli-
cation of the amendments made by subsections (a) and 
(b) under the Medicaid program under title XIX of the 
Social Security Act in the same manner as such amend-
ments apply to SCHIP under title XXI of such Act. 
SEC. 404. LIABILITY PROTECTIONS FOR HEALTH CENTER 
VOLUNTEER PRACTITIONERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 224 of the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 233) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (g)(1)(A)— 
(A) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘or 
employee’’ and inserting ‘‘employee, or (subject 
to subsection (k)(4)) volunteer practitioner’’; 
and 
(B) in the second sentence, by inserting 
‘‘and subsection (k)(4)’’ after ‘‘subject to para-
graph (5)’’; and 
(2) in each of subsections (g), (i), (j), (k), (l), 
and (m)— 
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171 
(A) by striking the term ‘‘employee, or 
contractor’’ each place such term appears and 
inserting ‘‘employee, volunteer practitioner, or 
contractor’’; 
(B) by striking the term ‘‘employee, and 
contractor’’ each place such term appears and 
inserting ‘‘employee, volunteer practitioner, and 
contractor’’; 
(C) by striking the term ‘‘employee, or any 
contractor’’ each place such term appears and 
inserting ‘‘employee, volunteer practitioner, or 
contractor’’; and 
(D) by striking the term ‘‘employees, or 
contractors’’ each place such term appears and 
inserting ‘‘employees, volunteer practitioners, or 
contractors’’. 
(b) APPLICABILITY; DEFINITION.—Section 224(k) of 
the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 233(k)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following paragraph: 
‘‘(4)(A) Subsections (g) through (m) apply with re-
spect to volunteer practitioners beginning with the first 
fiscal year for which an appropriations Act provides that 
amounts in the fund under paragraph (2) are available 
with respect to such practitioners. 
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172 
‘‘(B) For purposes of subsections (g) through (m), 
the term ‘volunteer practitioner’ means a practitioner who, 
with respect to an entity described in subsection (g)(4), 
meets the following conditions: 
‘‘(i) In the State involved, the practitioner is a 
licensed physician, a licensed clinical psychologist, or 
other licensed or certified health care practitioner. 
‘‘(ii) At the request of such entity, the practi-
tioner provides services to patients of the entity, at 
a site at which the entity operates or at a site des-
ignated by the entity. The weekly number of hours 
of services provided to the patients by the practi-
tioner is not a factor with respect to meeting condi-
tions under this subparagraph. 
‘‘(iii) The practitioner does not for the provision 
of such services receive any compensation from such 
patients, from the entity, or from third-party payors 
(including reimbursement under any insurance pol-
icy or health plan, or under any Federal or State 
health benefits program).’’. 
SEC. 405. LIABILITY PROTECTIONS FOR HEALTH CENTER 
PRACTITIONERS PROVIDING SERVICES IN 
EMERGENCY AREAS. 
Section 224(g) of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 233(g)) is amended— 
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173 
(1) in paragraph (1)(B)(ii), by striking ‘‘sub-
paragraph (C)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph (C) 
and paragraph (6)’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following para-
graph: 
‘‘(6)(A) Subject to subparagraph (C), paragraph 
(1)(B)(ii) applies to health services provided to individuals 
who are not patients of the entity involved if, as deter-
mined under criteria issued by the Secretary, the following 
conditions are met: 
‘‘(i) The services are provided by a contractor, 
volunteer practitioner (as defined in subsection 
(k)(4)(B)), or employee of the entity who is a physi-
cian or other licensed or certified health care practi-
tioner and who is otherwise deemed to be an em-
ployee for purposes of paragraph (1)(A) when pro-
viding services with respect to the entity. 
‘‘(ii) The services are provided in an emergency 
area (as defined in subparagraph (D)), with respect 
to a public health emergency or major disaster de-
scribed in subparagraph (D), and during the period 
for which such emergency or disaster is determined 
or declared, respectively. 
‘‘(iii) The services of the contractor, volunteer 
practitioner, or employee (referred to in this para-
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graph as the ‘out-of-area practitioner’) are provided 
under an arrangement with— 
‘‘(I) an entity that is deemed to be an em-
ployee for purposes of paragraph (1)(A) and 
that serves the emergency area involved (re-
ferred to in this paragraph as an ‘emergency- 
area entity’); or 
‘‘(II) a Federal agency that has respon-
sibilities regarding the provision of health serv-
ices in such area during the emergency. 
‘‘(iv) The purposes of the arrangement are— 
‘‘(I) to coordinate, to the extent prac-
ticable, the provision of health services in the 
emergency area by the out-of-area practitioner 
with the provision of services by the emergency- 
area entity, or by the Federal agency, as the 
case may be; 
‘‘(II) to identify a location in the emer-
gency area to which such practitioner should re-
port for purposes of providing health services, 
and to identify an individual or individuals in 
the area to whom the practitioner should report 
for such purposes; and 
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175 
‘‘(III) to verify the identity of the practi-
tioner and that the practitioner is licensed or 
certified by one or more of the States. 
‘‘(v) With respect to the licensure or certifi-
cation of health care practitioners, the provision of 
services by the out-of-area practitioner in the emer-
gency area is not a violation of the law of the State 
in which the area is located. 
‘‘(B) In issuing criteria under subparagraph (A), the 
Secretary shall take into account the need to rapidly enter 
into arrangements under such subparagraph in order to 
provide health services in emergency areas promptly after 
the emergency begins. 
‘‘(C) Subparagraph (A) applies with respect to an act 
or omission of an out-of-area practitioner only to the ex-
tent that the practitioner is not immune from liability for 
such act or omission under the Volunteer Protection Act 
of 1997. 
‘‘(D) For purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘emer-
gency area’ means a geographic area for which— 
‘‘(i) the Secretary has made a determination 
under section 319 that a public health emergency 
exists; or 
‘‘(ii) a presidential declaration of major disaster 
has been issued under section 401 of the Robert T. 
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Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 
Act.’’. 
TITLE 
V—MEDICAL 
LIABILITY 
AND UNCOMPENSATED CARE 
REFORMS 
SEC. 501. SHORT TITLE. 
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Help Efficient, Acces-
sible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act of 
2011’’. 
SEC. 502. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 
(a) FINDINGS.— 
(1) EFFECT
ON
HEALTH
CARE
ACCESS
AND 
COSTS.—Congress finds that our current civil justice 
system is adversely affecting patient access to health 
care services, better patient care, and cost-efficient 
health care, in that the health care liability system 
is a costly and ineffective mechanism for resolving 
claims of health care liability and compensating in-
jured patients, and is a deterrent to the sharing of 
information among health care professionals which 
impedes efforts to improve patient safety and quality 
of care. 
(2) EFFECT
ON
INTERSTATE
COMMERCE.— 
Congress finds that the health care and insurance 
industries are industries affecting interstate com-
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merce and the health care liability litigation systems 
existing throughout the United States are activities 
that affect interstate commerce by contributing to 
the high costs of health care and premiums for 
health care liability insurance purchased by health 
care system providers. 
(3) EFFECT
ON
FEDERAL
SPENDING.—Con-
gress finds that the health care liability litigation 
systems existing throughout the United States have 
a significant effect on the amount, distribution, and 
use of Federal funds because of— 
(A) the large number of individuals who 
receive health care benefits under programs op-
erated or financed by the Federal Government; 
(B) the large number of individuals who 
benefit because of the exclusion from Federal 
taxes of the amounts spent to provide them 
with health insurance benefits; and 
(C) the large number of health care pro-
viders who provide items or services for which 
the Federal Government makes payments. 
(b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this title to imple-
ment reasonable, comprehensive, and effective health care 
liability reforms designed to— 
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(1) improve the availability of health care serv-
ices in cases in which health care liability actions 
have been shown to be a factor in the decreased 
availability of services; 
(2) reduce the incidence of ‘‘defensive medi-
cine’’ and lower the cost of health care liability in-
surance, all of which contribute to the escalation of 
health care costs; 
(3) ensure that persons with meritorious health 
care injury claims receive fair and adequate com-
pensation, including reasonable noneconomic dam-
ages; 
(4) improve the fairness and cost-effectiveness 
of our current health care liability system to resolve 
disputes over, and provide compensation for, health 
care liability by reducing uncertainty in the amount 
of compensation provided to injured individuals; and 
(5) provide an increased sharing of information 
in the health care system which will reduce unin-
tended injury and improve patient care. 
SEC. 503. ENCOURAGING SPEEDY RESOLUTION OF CLAIMS. 
The time for the commencement of a health care law-
suit shall be 3 years after the date of manifestation of 
injury or 1 year after the claimant discovers, or through 
the use of reasonable diligence should have discovered, the 
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