Senate Bill No. 178
(By Senator Sharpe)
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[Introduced February 19, 2001; referred to the Committee
on Health and Human Resources; then to the Committee on the
Judiciary; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend chapter sixteen of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding
thereto a new article, designated article five-t, relating to
the "West Virginia Volunteer Health Care Provider Act";
definitions; establishing volunteer health care provider
program; rules; and civil immunity for volunteer health care
providers.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That chapter sixteen of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding
thereto a new article, designated article five-t, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5T. WEST VIRGINIA VOLUNTEER HEALTH CARE PROVIDER ACT.
§16-5T-1. Short title.
This act shall be called the "West Virginia Volunteer Health
Care Provider Act."
§16-5T-2. Definitions.
As used in this article:
(1) "Charitable organization" means a charitable organization
within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue
Code which has as its primary purpose the sponsorship or support of
programs designed to improve the quality, awareness and
availability of medical services to children and to serve as a
funding mechanism for provision of medical services, including, but
not limited to immunizations, to children in this state.
(2)
"Department" means the department of health and human
resources.
(3) "Health care provider" means
a medical doctor or doctor of
osteopathy, a podiatrist, registered nurse, practical nurse,
registered nurse practitioner, physician's assistant, dentist or
optometrist licensed under chapter thirty of this code.
(4)
"Secretary" means the secretary of the department of
health and human resources, or the secretary's designee.
§16-5T-3. Volunteer health care provider program established;
rules.
(a) The secretary shall establish within the department a
program to provide to eligible hospitals, clinics, or other health
care facilities, health care referral programs, or charitable
organizations, free medical services given on a voluntary basis by
health care providers. A participating health care provider shall
register with the department and obtain from the department a list
of eligible, participating hospitals, clinics, or other health care
facilities, health care referral programs or charitable
organizations.
(b) The secretary shall propose rules for legislative approval
in accordance
with the provisions of article three, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code
to implement the volunteer health care
provider program, which shall include the following:
(1) Procedures for registration of health care providers
determined qualified by the licensing boards of the respective
health care providers as set forth in chapter thirty of this code.
(2) Criteria for and identification of hospitals, clinics, or
other health care facilities, health care referral programs or
charitable organizations, eligible to participate in the provision
of free medical services through the volunteer health care provider program. A health care facility, a health care referral program,
a charitable organization, or a health care provider participating
in the program may not bill or charge a patient for any health care
provider service provided under the volunteer health care provider
program.
(3) Identification of the medical services to be provided
under the program. The medical services provided shall include
obstetrical and gynecological medical services.
§16-5T-4. Civil immunity for volunteer health care providers.
(a) A
medical doctor or doctor of osteopathy, a podiatrist,
registered nurse, practical nurse, registered nurse practitioner,
physician's assistant, dentist or optometrist licensed under
chapter thirty of this code
is immune from liability for any civil
action arising out of any act or omission resulting from the
rendering of medical or health services
while acting as a
participant in the volunteer health care provider program
established by this article. The immunity granted in this
subsection (a) does not extend to acts of willful misconduct.
(b) The grant of immunity provided under subsection (a) of
this section is only applicable when:
(1) The
medical doctor or doctor of osteopathy, a podiatrist, registered nurse, practical nurse, registered nurse practitioner,
physician's assistant, dentist or optometrist
registered with the
department pursuant to section three of this article; and
(2) He or she provided the medical services through a
hospital, clinic, or other health care facility, health care
referral program or charitable organization listed as eligible and
participating by the department pursuant to section three of this
article.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is establish a volunteer
health care provider program under the auspices of the Secretary of
the DHHR. Civil immunity is granted to health care providers
participating in the program.
This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.