§1320c–6 — Title 42 The Public Health and Welfare | U.S. Code

Summary

People who give information to organizations that have a contract with the Secretary are mostly protected from criminal charges or civil lawsuits for providing that information. The protection does not apply if the information has nothing to do with the contract or if the information is false and the person knew or should have suspected it was false. Organizations with such contracts, and their employees, fiduciaries, or professional helpers, are also protected when doing duties under the contract, as long as they used due care. Doctors and other health care providers who follow or rely on professionally made care rules used by a local contracted organization are protected from civil suits, if they acted in their professional role and used due care. The Secretary must pay reasonable defense costs for the contracted organization, its members or employees, and its legal counsel for lawsuits about work done under the contract. The Secretary decides what costs are reasonable.

Title 42, §1320c–6

The Public Health and Welfare — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person providing information to any organization having a contract with the Secretary under this part shall be held, by reason of having provided such information, to have violated any criminal law, or to be civilly liable under any law of the United States or of any State (or political subdivision thereof) unless—

(1)such information is unrelated to the performance of the contract of such organization; or

(2)such information is false and the person providing it knew, or had reason to believe, that such information was false.

(b)No organization having a contract with the Secretary under this part and no person who is employed by, or who has a fiduciary relationship with, any such organization or who furnishes professional services to such organization, shall be held by reason of the performance of any duty, function, or activity required or authorized pursuant to this part or to a valid contract entered into under this part, to have violated any criminal law, or to be civilly liable under any law of the United States or of any State (or political subdivision thereof) provided due care was exercised in the performance of such duty, function, or activity.

(c)No doctor of medicine or osteopathy and no provider (including directors, trustees, employees, or officials thereof) of health care services shall be civilly liable to any person under any law of the United States or of any State (or political subdivision thereof) on account of any action taken by him in compliance with or reliance upon professionally developed norms of care and treatment applied by an organization under contract pursuant to section 1320c–2 of this title operating in the area where such doctor of medicine or osteopathy or provider took such action; but only if—

(1)he takes such action in the exercise of his profession as a doctor of medicine or osteopathy or in the exercise of his functions as a provider of health care services; and

(2)he exercised due care in all professional conduct taken or directed by him and reasonably related to, and resulting from, the actions taken in compliance with or reliance upon such professionally accepted norms of care and treatment.

(d)The Secretary shall make payment to an organization under contract with him pursuant to this part, or to any member or employee thereof, or to any person who furnishes legal counsel or services to such organization, in an amount equal to the reasonable amount of the expenses incurred, as determined by the Secretary, in connection with the defense of any suit, action, or proceeding brought against such organization, member, or employee related to the performance of any duty or function under such contract by such organization, member, or employee.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

A prior section 1320c–6, act Aug. 14, 1935, ch. 531, title XI, § 1157, as added Oct. 30, 1972, Pub. L. 92–603, title II, § 249F(b), 86 Stat. 1437; amended Oct. 25, 1977, Pub. L. 95–142, § 13(b)(4), 91 Stat. 1198, related to submission of reports by Professional Standards Review Organizations, prior to the general revision of this part by Pub. L. 97–248.

Amendments

1990—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 101–508 inserted “organization having a contract with the Secretary under this part and no” after “No”, struck out “by him” after “the performance”, and substituted “due care was exercised in the performance of such duty, function, or activity” for “he has exercised due care”.

§1320c–6 Limitation on liability