An Act To Prohibit Hospitals from Charging for Treatment To Correct Medical Mistakes
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 2044
Committee Amendment CA_A_H873 (House)
Amends: 22 MRSA §1721

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" II " to H.P. 1428, L.D. 2044, Bill, "An Act To 
Prohibit Hospitals from Charging for Treatment To Correct Medical Mistakes" 
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following: 
'An Act To Prohibit Health Care Facilities from Charging for Treatment To 
Correct Mistakes or Preventable Adverse Events' 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the 
summary and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §1721 is enacted to read: 
§1721. Prohibition on payment for health care facility mistakes or preventable 
adverse events 
1. Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings. 
A. 
"Health care facility" means a hospital or ambulatory surgical center licensed 
under chapter 405. 
B. "Mistake or preventable adverse event" means any of the following events that is 
within the health care facility's control to avoid: 
(1) Surgery performed on the wrong body part; 
(2) Surgery performed on the wrong patient; 
(3) The wrong surgical procedure performed on a patient; 
(4) Unintended retention of a foreign object in a patient after surgery or another 
procedure; 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" 4 .. to H.P. 1428, L.D. 2044 
(5) Intraoperative or immediately postoperative preventable death of a patient 
classified as a normal healthy patient under guidelines published by a national 
association of anesthesiologists; 
(6) Patient death or serious disability caused by the use of contaminated drugs, 
devices or biologics provided by a hospital or ambulatory surgical center; 
(7) Patient death or serious disability caused by the use or function of a device in 
patient care in which the device is used for functions other than as intended; 
(8) Patient death or serious disability caused by an intravascular air embolism 
that occurs while being cared for in a health care facility; 
(9) An infant's being discharged to the wrong person; 
(10) Patient death or serious disability caused by a patient's elopement for more 
than 4 hours; 
(11) Patient suicide or attempted suicide resulting in serious disability while 
being cared for in a health care facility; 
(12) Patient death or serious disability caused by a medication error such as an 
error involving the wrong drug, wrong dose, wrong patient, wrong time, wrong 
rate, wrong preparation or wrong route of administration; 
(13) Patient death or serious disability caused by a hemolytic reaction due to the 
administration of incompatible blood or blood products; 
(14) Maternal death or serious disability caused by labor or delivery in a low-risk 
pregnancy while being cared for in a health care facility; 
(15) Patient death or serious disability caused by hypoglycemia, the onset of 
which occurs while the patient is being cared for in a health care facility; 
(16) 
Death or serious disability caused by failure to identify and treat 
hyperbilirubinemia in neonates prior to discharge; 
(17) Stage 3 or 4 pressure ulcers acquired after admission to a health care facility; 
(18) Patient death or serious disability due to spinal manipulative therapy; 
(19) Patient death or serious disability caused by an electric shock while being 
cared for in a health care facility; 
(20) Any incident in which a line designated for oxygen or other gas to be 
delivered to a patient contains the wrong gas or is contaminated by toxic 
substances; 
(21) Patient death or serious disability caused by a burn incurred from any 
source while being cared for in a health care facility; 
(22) Patient death caused by a fall by a patient who was or should have been 
identified as requiring precautions due to risk of falling while being cared for in a 
health care facility; 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A " to H.P. 1428. L.D. 2044 
I 
(23) Patient death or serious disability caused by the use of restraints or bedrails 
while being cared for in a health care facility; 
(24) Any instance of care ordered by or provided by someone impersonating a 
physician, nurse, pharmacist or other licensed health care provider; 
(25) Abduction of a patient of any age; 
(26) Sexual assault of a patient with in a health care facility; and 
(27) Death or significant injury of a patient resulting from a physical assault that 
occurs within a health care facility. 
2. Prohibition. A health care facility is prohibited from knowingly charging a 
patient or the patient's insurer for health care services it provided as a result of or to 
correct a mistake or preventable adverse event caused by that health care facility. 
3. Patient education. A health care facility is required to inform patients of the 
prohibition on payment for health care facility mistakes or preventable adverse events.' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment changes the title and replaces the bill. It prohibits a health care 
facility from knowingly charging a patient or insurer for treatment to correct mistakes or 
preventable adverse events. The amendment clarifies that, in the case of a patient's death 
or disability, the mistake or preventable adverse event must be the cause of the patient's 
death or disability; the bill only requires the death or disability to be associated with the 
mistake or adverse event. It requires health care facilities to inform patients of the 
prohibition on payment for health care facility mistakes or preventable adverse events. 
FISCAL ~OTE REQLlRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 03126/08 frac 
LD 2044 
LR 2917(02) 
An Act To Prohibit Hospitals from Charging for Treatment To Correct Medical Mistakes 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment" A" 
Committee: Health and Human Services 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Minor savings - General Fund 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Any quantifiable savings to the state health insurance program that may result from the bill are expected to be minor. 
LR2917(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1