05/17/2021 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY

        SB  65-LIABILITY CONSULTING HEALTH CARE PROVIDER                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
6:17:18 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR CLAMAN announced that the  final order of business would be                                                               
CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 65(JUD),  "An Act relating to immunity for                                                               
consulting   physicians,    podiatrists,   osteopaths,   advanced                                                               
practice registered nurses,  physician assistants, chiropractors,                                                               
dentists, optometrists, and pharmacists."   [Before the committee                                                               
was HCS CSSB 65(HSS).]                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  CLAMAN  referred to  Mason's  Manual,  Section 1.2,  which                                                               
emphasizes  orderly and  businesslike consideration  of questions                                                               
before  the body  to eliminate  confusion and  waste of  time and                                                               
effort.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR CLAMAN stated that the  bill had been introduced to address                                                               
potential  ambiguity  in Alaska  medical  malpractice  law as  it                                                               
pertains to "curbside consults"  where a medical professional may                                                               
consult   with   another   medical  professional   who   has   no                                                               
doctor/patient   relationship   with    the   patient   receiving                                                               
treatment.   He  referred to  the State  of Minnesota  court case                                                               
Warren  v.  Dinter,  which  had raised  the  question  whether  a                                                             
doctor/patient  relationship  must  exist  for  liability  to  be                                                               
established  in a  medical  malpractice claim.    He referred  to                                                               
three  Alaska  Supreme  Court  Cases, M.A  v  the  United  States                                                             
(1998), Smith v. Radecke (2010),  and Cornelison v. TIG Insurance                                                           
(2016), which may have left  ambiguity whether the doctor/patient                                                               
relationship must  exist in  a malpractice  claim, and  he stated                                                               
that  the proposed  legislation seeks  to remedy  that ambiguity.                                                               
He stated  that multiple amendments  may have detracted  from the                                                               
bill sponsor's  intent of the  bill.   He stated that  adding the                                                               
physician/patient   requirement   to  the   medical   malpractice                                                               
statute, AS 09.55.540,  would remove ambiguity that  may exist in                                                               
court  opinions  and  in  statute  and  uses  fewer  words.    He                                                               
suggested it  would result in  fewer lawsuits and  less confusion                                                               
among providers and patients.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
6:21:13 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR JESSE KIEHL, Alaska State  Legislature, as prime sponsor,                                                               
stated that  the fundamental purpose of  the proposed legislation                                                               
was elegantly restated via a  proposed House committee substitute                                                               
available   to  the   committee,   despite   being  an   approach                                                               
significantly  different from  the initial  draft of  SB 65.   He                                                               
added  that  the  House committee  substitute  would  remove  the                                                               
question of  whether a  medical professional  may be  held liable                                                               
for medical malpractice outside  of a doctor/patient relationship                                                               
and  it would  maintain focus  on medical  malpractice liability.                                                               
He  stated  his  appreciation   for  the  committee  substitute's                                                               
limitation  to parties  to a  malpractice lawsuit  and would  not                                                               
permit  non-party participation.   He  expressed his  support for                                                               
the adoption of the House committee substitute.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
6:24:38 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  SNYDER   moved  to   adopt  the   proposed  House                                                               
committee  substitute  (HCS)  for  SB  65,  labeled  32-LS0002\R,                                                               
Fisher, 5/17/21.  There being  no objection, Version R was before                                                               
the committee.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
6:26:07 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE KREISS-TOMKINS  expressed his appreciation  of the                                                               
elegance and precision arrived at  in cooperation with the bill's                                                               
sponsor within the committee substitute.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE   SNYDER  stated   that  she   had  observed   the                                                               
deliberation of  SB 65 that had  taken place in the  House Health                                                               
and Social  Services Standing Committee  and lauded  the solution                                                               
put forth in the [newly  adopted] committee substitute, which she                                                               
also characterized as elegant.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE KURKA lauded the brevity  of [Version R] and asked                                                               
what prompted the elimination of  consideration of "duty of care"                                                               
that had been addressed in the underlying bill.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  CLAMAN reiterated  his opening  comments  and shared  that                                                               
Version  R reflected  the clarity  that was  required to  address                                                               
concerns brought by  members of the medical  profession that they                                                               
could be sued by an individual who is not their patient.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
6:30:33 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE SNYDER  moved to report HCS  CSSB 65(JUD), labeled                                                               
32-LS0002\R, Fisher,  5/17/21, out  of committee  with individual                                                               
recommendations and  the accompanying fiscal notes.   There being                                                               
no  objection, HCS  CSSB 65(JUD)  was reported  out of  the House                                                               
Judiciary Standing Committee.