Senate Study Bill 3150 - Introduced SENATE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY BILL BY CHAIRPERSON ZAUN) 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 and evidence offered to prove past medical 3 expenses. 4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 5 TLSB 6349XC (1) 88 ja/jh

S.F. _____ 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 hundred fifty thousand dollars for any 6 occurrence resulting in injury or death of a patient regardless 7 of the number of plaintiffs, derivative claims, theories of 8 liability, or defendants in the civil action , unless the jury 9 determines that there is a substantial or permanent loss or 10 impairment of a bodily function, substantial disfigurement, 11 or death, which warrants a finding that imposition of such a 12 limitation would deprive the plaintiff of just compensation for 13 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. This section does not impose upon any party an 21 affirmative duty to seek a reduction in billed charges to which 22 the party is not contractually entitled. 23 EXPLANATION 24 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 25 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 26 This bill relates to civil actions, including the total 27 amount of noneconomic damages recoverable in a civil action for 28 personal injury or death against a health care provider and 29 evidence offered to prove past medical expenses. 30 Current law limits to $250,000 the amount of noneconomic 31 damages recoverable for any occurrence resulting in injury or 32 death of a patient regardless of the number of plaintiffs, 33 derivative claims, theories of liability, or defendants in 34 the civil action, unless the jury determines that there is 35 -1- LSB 6349XC (1) 88 ja/jh 1/ 2

S.F. _____ a substantial or permanent loss or impairment of a bodily 1 function, substantial disfigurement, or death, which warrants 2 a finding that imposition of such a limitation would deprive 3 the plaintiff of just compensation for the injuries sustained. 4 Current law also provides that the limitation on damages 5 shall not apply as to a defendant if the defendant’s actions 6 constituted actual malice. 7 The bill eliminates the exception to the limitation 8 of $250,000 that would allow the jury to determine if the 9 imposition of such a limitation would deprive the plaintiff of 10 just compensation for the injuries sustained. 11 Under the bill, “noneconomic damages” means damages arising 12 from pain, suffering, inconvenience, physical impairment, 13 mental anguish, emotional pain and suffering, loss of chance, 14 loss of consortium, or any other nonpecuniary damages. 15 The bill also provides that evidence offered to prove past 16 medical expenses shall be limited to evidence of the amounts 17 that were actually paid to satisfy bills that have been 18 satisfied and evidence of the amounts necessary to satisfy 19 the bills that have not yet been satisfied. The bill does 20 not impose an affirmative duty to seek a reduction in billed 21 charges to which the party is not contractually entitled. 22 -2- LSB 6349XC (1) 88 ja/jh 2/ 2