June

5, 2017

Honorable Paul Ryan Honorable Nancy Pelosi

Speaker of the House Minority Leader

U.S. House of Representatives U.S. House of Representatives

Washington, D.C. 29515 Washington, D.C. 20515


Honorable Kevin McCarthy Honorable Steny Hoyer

Majority Leader Minority Whip

U.S. House of Representatives U.S. House of Representatives

Washington, D.C. 20515 Washington, D.C. 20515


Honorable Bob Goodlatte Honorable John Conyers

Chairman, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member, Judiciary Committee

U.S. House of Representatives U.S. House of Representatives

Washington, D.C. 20515 Washington, D.C. 20515



Re: Veterans Service Organization oppose H.R. 1215, the Protecting Access to Care
Act of 2017.

Dear Speaker Ryan, Leader McCarthy, Leader Pelosi, Whip Hoyer, Chairman Goodlatte, and
Ranking Member Conyers:

We, the undersigned military and veterans service organizations, oppose H.R. 1215, the
misnamed Protecting Access to Care Act of 2017.

Rather than providing for additional healthcare protections to our veterans and military families,
the bill would limit their ability to hold health care providers, drug manufacturers and medical
products providers accountable for pain, suffering, and death that result from substandard care,
preventable medical errors, and defective drugs and devices.

Our military, veterans, and their families who provide support during their service, deserve the
best possible care. However, as you know all too well, VA hospitals and other military medical
facilities across the country have been the subject of scrutiny and investigation for substandard
care, severe understaffing, and in some cases repeated patterns of negligent treatment of their
patients. H.R. 1215 would limit the amount of compensation veterans and their families would
receive for pain and suffering, and wrongful death, if they find themselves suffering injury due to
this sort of treatment.

As you know, claims against veterans hospitals and military medical facilities are brought under
the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). Under the FTCA, the state tort law where the act or
omission occurred is applied to the case. If H.R. 1215 were to become law, large areas of state
tort law that currently protect our veterans and their families who have been injured due to
medical malpractice would be preempted, including, but not limited to, 18 states that do not
currently have caps on damages.i Additionally, most states with damages caps are fairer than the
proposed bill that caps recovery at $250,000.00. H.R. 1215 would preempt these state tort laws
and cap non-economic damages at $250,000 for veterans and military families who are injured or
killed as a result of medical treatment provided and/or dangerous drugs and devices.

Numerous veterans and military families would be hurt by this bill. For example, consider the
case of Lt. Col. Clarence Lee from Texas, who served six tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan
and was in the Pentagon when it was hit on 9/11. Instead of running out of the building to safety,
he ran directly to the daycare and helped safely evacuate all of the children. Upon returning
from duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, Lt. Col. Lee had to endure an even harder challenge, when
his two-year old son almost died from medical malpractice at a San Antonio military hospital.
Because of the gross malpractice committed, his son required two kidney transplants to survive
and will continue to need additional transplants and care into his adulthood. One of those kidneys
came from his own father. If H.R. 1215 existed at the time Lt. Col. Lees sons access to justice
would have been severely limited, if not denied altogether.

Another example is Sgt. Sandy Timmons from Oklahoma. Sandy recently retired from the Air
Force where she bravely served as a combat medic in Iraq. She was exposed to more than 120
IED blasts during her service. As a result, she returned from the war with a Traumatic Brain
Injury. In 2005, Sandy delivered her son at an Air Force hospital in Florida. However, during
labor the doctor overstimulated her uterus which caused her baby to suffer oxygen loss. Despite
her baby showing signs of oxygen deprivation for hours on the fetal monitor strip, the doctor did
not deliver the baby until he almost died. Due to the doctors negligence, her son was deprived of
oxygen so long that he suffered a permanent brain injury. He is now 11 years old, has partial
paralysis in his legs and arms, impaired vision and hearing, is incontinent and has a seizure
disorder. He will need around the clock care and treatment for the rest of his life. Thankfully,
H.R. 1215 did not exist at the time, and this decorated military family did not have to suffer two
tragedies. Their case was allowed to fairly proceed and Sgt. Timmons child s lifelong
disabilities and medical needs will be met.

This broad overreaching federal law should not dictate recovery for every single veteran and
military family in all 50 states. Those decisions should be left to the states and the federal
government should never be in the position of providing less recovery and aid to veterans and
military families. But this is exactly what H.R. 1215 will do.
Our veterans and military families deserve more protection and accessibility to healthcare, not
less. We strongly urge Congress to put our veterans and military families first, and oppose H.R.
1215, the Protecting Access to Care Act of 2017.

Thank you,



Air Force Women Officers Associated Naval Enlisted Reserve Association

Army Aviation Association of America Non Commissioned Officers Association
of The United States of America

Association of the United States Navy The Retired Enlisted Association

Commissioned Officers Association of USCG Chief Petty Officers Association
The US Public Health Service, Inc.

Fleet Reserve Association US Army Warrant Officers Association

Jewish War Veterans of the USA Vietnam Veterans of America

Marine Corps League

i
The eighteen states include: 5 states that have state constitutional provisions prohibiting the capping of damages
(Arizona, Arkansas, Kentucky, Pennsylvania & Wyoming), 2 states that have state constitutionals provisions that
prohibit caps on damages in wrongful death cases (New York & Oklahoma), and 11 states whose highest state court
struck down statutorily enacted caps on damages as violating their state constitutions (Alabama, Florida, Georgia,
Illinois, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin).