Healthy Mothers and Healthy Babies Access to Care Act of 2003
Latest action. Motion to proceed to consideration of measure withdrawn in Senate.
Healthy Mothers and Healthy Babies Access to Care Act of 2003 - Sets forth provisions regulating lawsuits for health care liability claims related to the provision of obstetrical or gynecological goods or services.
Sets a statute of limitations of three years after the date of manifestation of injury or one year after the claimant discovers the injury, with certain exceptions.
Allows the recovery of unlimited economic damages. Limits noneconomic damages to $250,000. Makes each party liable only for the amount of damages directly proportional to such party's percentage of responsibility.
Allows the court to restrict the payment of attorney contingency fees. Limits the fees to a percentage based on the amount awarded.
Prescribes qualifications for expert witnesses.
Permits the court to reduce damages received by the amount of collateral source benefits to which a claimant is entitled.
Authorizes the award of punitive damages only where: (1) it is proven that a person acted with malicious intent to injure the claimant or deliberately failed to avoid unnecessary injury the claimant was substantially certain to suffer; and (2) compensatory damages are awarded. Limits punitive damages to the greater of two times the amount of economic damages or $250,000.
Limits the liability of manufacturers, distributors, and providers of obstetrical or gynecological products that comply with Food and Drug Administration standards.
Provides for periodic payments of future damage awards.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on February 10, 2004. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Motion to proceed to consideration of measure withdrawn in Senate.
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Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
The latest action on file does not map to a stage Civibrief recognizes, so the page will not name one. The record's own words are the reliable fact here.
The record's latest action, on February 24, 2004: Motion to proceed to consideration of measure withdrawn in Senate.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 108th Congress (2003-04), 498 of the 8,623 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 5.8 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one has no outstanding steps listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Judd Gregg (R-NH) introduced it on February 10, 2004, and 13 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 13 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on February 10, 2004, 8295 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 8281 days ago, on February 24, 2004.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 108th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2005 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateMotion to proceed to consideration of measure withdrawn in Senate.
- HouseNot stated in the latest action
- PresidentNot stated in the latest action