H.R. 5739 (110th): Physician Availability Act of 2008

Introduced:
Apr 09, 2008 (110th Congress, 2007–2009)
Sponsor:
Rep. Janice “Jan” Schakowsky [D-IL9]
Status:
Died (Referred to Committee)
See Instead:
This bill was re-introduced as H.R. 2388 (111th) on May 13, 2009.

The bill’s title was written by the bill’s sponsor. H.R. stands for House of Representatives bill.

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Status

This bill was introduced on April 9, 2008, in a previous session of Congress, but was not enacted.

Progress
Introduced Apr 09, 2008
Cosponsors
3 cosponsors (3D) (show)
Committees

House Energy and Commerce

The committee chair determines whether a bill will move past the committee stage.

Full Title

To assure that the services of a nonemergency department physician are available to hospital patients 24-hours-a-day, seven days a week in all non-Federal hospitals with at least 100 licensed beds.

Summary

No summaries available.

Text

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Last updated Apr 09, 2008.
6 pages

Primary Source

View on THOMAS (The Library of Congress)

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Citation

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GovTrack’s Bill Summary

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Library of Congress Summary

The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.

4/9/2008--Introduced.
Physician Availability Act of 2008 - Requires each covered hospital to have a qualified physician available in the hospital 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to attend to the needs of the hospital's inpatients. Defines a "covered hospital" to: (1) include hospitals participating in Medicare or Medicaid or receiving federal funds; and (2) exclude hospitals in a federal facility or hospitals that the Secretary of Health and Human Services determines have fewer than 100 licensed beds.
Considers a physician to be available if: (1) the physician is physically present in the hospital; (2) the physician's primary responsibility is to be in attendance to serve the needs of the hospital's inpatients without delay; and (3) the physician is not physically present in, assigned to, serving in, or expected to cover the hospital's emergency room or emergency department. Sets forth penalties for violations.

House Republican Conference Summary

The summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.

No summary available.

House Democratic Caucus Summary

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The bill contains the following citations to other parts of U.S. law:

United States Code

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