Murphy receives health champion award
WAYNESBURG – U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-18th District, was presented with the 2013 Distinguished Community Health Champion Award by the PA Association of Community Health Centers in a ceremony at Cornerstone Care’s Primary Care Center of Mt. Morris.
The award was presented to Murphy because of his work in advancing legislation to remove barriers that prevent healthcare professionals from volunteering at federally funded community health centers. Murphy is the author of the Family Health Care Accessibility Act.
“Federally qualified health centers like Cornerstone Care provide high-quality care to low-income families and children, but a shortage of healthcare professionals is making it difficult for these offices to meet the medical needs of the community. The Family Health Care Accessibility Act removes the federal barriers that actively prevent doctors and other healthcare workers who want to help and volunteer their services at CHCs,” said Murphy.
Under current law, if a physician, psychologist, dentist or other healthcare professional volunteers at a free clinic, they receive federal liability protections covered under the Federal Tort Claims Act. But if a physician wants to volunteer at a CHC, they must provide their own medical malpractice insurance, which can cost more than $100,000. This barrier is turning away otherwise qualified volunteers and creating a preventable shortage at CHCs.
On July 25 Murphy re-introduced the bipartisan Family Health Care Accessibility Act, a measure to fix this problem by extending to volunteer healthcare professionals at CHCs the same protection given to free clinic volunteers, who have been covered by the FTCA since passage of HIPAA in 1996.
The Family Health Care Accessibility Act has received the endorsement of the National Association of Community Health Centers. In the 111th Congress, Murphy’s legislation passed the House of Representatives 417-1. The Senate did not take the bill up before the end of session, however.
Murphy also received the Champion award in 2011 and 2012.