Senate File 2338 - Introduced SENATE FILE 2338 BY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY (SUCCESSOR TO SSB 3150) A BILL FOR An Act relating to civil actions, including the total amount 1 recoverable as a noneconomic damages award against a health 2 care provider, recoverable damages for medical expenses, and 3 evidence offered to prove past medical expenses. 4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 5 TLSB 6349SV (2) 88 ja/jh

S.F. 2338 Section 1. Section 147.136A, subsection 2, Code 2020, is 1 amended to read as follows: 2 2. The total amount recoverable in any civil action for 3 noneconomic damages for personal injury or death, whether in 4 tort, contract, or otherwise, against a health care provider 5 shall be limited to two seven hundred fifty thousand dollars 6 for any occurrence resulting in injury or death of a patient 7 regardless of the number of plaintiffs, derivative claims, 8 theories of liability, or defendants in the civil action , 9 unless the jury determines that there is a substantial or 10 permanent loss or impairment of a bodily function, substantial 11 disfigurement, or death, which warrants a finding that 12 imposition of such a limitation would deprive the plaintiff of 13 just compensation for the injuries sustained . 14 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION . 622.4 Medical expenses. 15 Evidence offered to prove past medical expenses shall be 16 limited to evidence of the amounts actually paid to satisfy 17 the bills that have been satisfied, regardless of the source 18 of payment, and evidence of the amounts actually necessary 19 to satisfy the bills that have been incurred but not yet 20 satisfied. Evidence of the amounts actually necessary to 21 satisfy the bills that have been incurred shall not exceed 22 the amount by which the bills could be satisfied by the 23 claimant’s health insurance, regardless of whether such health 24 insurance is used or will be used to satisfy the bills. This 25 section does not impose upon any party an affirmative duty to 26 seek a reduction in billed charges to which the party is not 27 contractually entitled. 28 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION . 668.14A Recoverable damages for 29 medical expenses. 30 1. In an action brought to recover damages for personal 31 injury, the damages that may be recovered by a claimant for the 32 reasonable and necessary cost or value of medical care rendered 33 shall not exceed the sum of the amounts actually paid by or 34 on behalf of the injured person to the health care providers 35 -1- LSB 6349SV (2) 88 ja/jh 1/ 3

S.F. 2338 who rendered treatment and any amounts actually necessary to 1 satisfy the medical care charges that have been incurred but 2 not yet satisfied. 3 2. This section does not apply to actions governed by 4 section 147.136. 5 EXPLANATION 6 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 7 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 8 This bill relates to civil actions, including the total 9 amount of noneconomic damages recoverable in a civil action 10 for personal injury or death against a health care provider, 11 recoverable damages for medical expenses, and evidence offered 12 to prove past medical expenses. 13 Current law limits to $250,000 the amount of noneconomic 14 damages recoverable for any occurrence resulting in injury or 15 death of a patient regardless of the number of plaintiffs, 16 derivative claims, theories of liability, or defendants in 17 the civil action, unless the jury determines that there is 18 a substantial or permanent loss or impairment of a bodily 19 function, substantial disfigurement, or death, which warrants 20 a finding that imposition of such a limitation would deprive 21 the plaintiff of just compensation for the injuries sustained. 22 Current law also provides that the limitation on damages 23 shall not apply as to a defendant if the defendant’s actions 24 constituted actual malice. 25 The bill increases the limitation from $250,000 to $750,000. 26 The bill also eliminates the exception to the new limitation 27 of $750,000 that would allow the jury to determine if the 28 imposition of such a limitation would deprive the plaintiff of 29 just compensation for the injuries sustained. 30 Under the bill, “noneconomic damages” means damages arising 31 from pain, suffering, inconvenience, physical impairment, 32 mental anguish, emotional pain and suffering, loss of chance, 33 loss of consortium, or any other nonpecuniary damages. 34 The bill provides that evidence offered to prove past 35 -2- LSB 6349SV (2) 88 ja/jh 2/ 3

S.F. 2338 medical expenses shall be limited to evidence of the amounts 1 that were actually paid to satisfy medical bills that have been 2 satisfied and evidence of the amounts necessary to satisfy 3 medical bills that have not yet been satisfied. The bill 4 additionally provides that evidence of the amounts actually 5 necessary to satisfy medical bills that have been incurred 6 shall not exceed the amount by which the medical bills could 7 be satisfied by the claimant’s health insurance, regardless 8 of whether such health insurance is used or will be used 9 to satisfy the medical bills. The bill does not impose an 10 affirmative duty to seek a reduction in billed charges to which 11 the party is not contractually entitled. 12 Finally, the bill limits the damages that may be recovered 13 in a personal injury action. The bill provides the damages 14 that may be recovered by a claimant for the reasonable and 15 necessary cost of medical care rendered shall not exceed the 16 sum of the amounts actually paid by or on behalf of the injured 17 person to the health care providers who rendered treatment and 18 any amounts necessary to satisfy the medical care charges that 19 have been incurred but not yet satisfied. The bill provides 20 that this limitation does not apply to those actions governed 21 by Code section 147.136, which applies to malpractice actions 22 against certain medical professionals and hospitals. 23 -3- LSB 6349SV (2) 88 ja/jh 3/ 3