Feb 3, 2014 By Erin Hayes for The 3 min read

The chief executive officer of Cornerstone Care recently testified before Congress about the importance of eliminating barriers that prevent medical professionals from volunteering their services at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), which are designed to meet the needs of rural and underserved populations.

Such centers offer primary medical and dental care as well as psychiatry and counseling services to all seeking care, regardless of their ability to pay.

“We accept anyone regardless of their insurance status,” said Robert MtJoy, CEO of Cornerstone Care, a network of nine FQHCs serving residents in Fayette, Greene and Washington counties.

MtJoy testified before the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health in November in support of a bill authored by U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair, the Family Health Care Accessibility Act of 2013, or House Resolution 2703, designed to break down the barriers to doctor volunteerism at centers such as Cornerstone.

Extending the same liability protections afforded to those volunteering at federal free clinics under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) to those volunteering at FQHCs would remove those barriers to community health volunteerism, MtJoy said.

Many of those wishing to volunteer at heath centers other than federal free clinics are part time or retired; they are not receiving monetary compensation for the services they contribute; and ultimately cannot afford the cost of medical malpractice insurance, he said.

In opening statements at the hearing, Murphy added that FQHCs also cannot afford the necessary liability protections for volunteers, which can cost the centers thousands of dollars, and, in some cases, more than $100,000 a year per doctor.

“Clinics simply can’t afford that expense for volunteers,” he said. “We have a chance to do something to expand care to millions of Americans with this act without raising the bills for families or taxpayer. This is an example of real bipartisan reform that helps people get the health care they need when they need it close to home at an affordable cost.”

The bill has been introduced and reintroduced a few times in Congress, but despite support from both sides of the aisle, it has yet to be among the very small percentage of those enacted into law each session, a Murphy aide said.

But the idea of providing tort protections to volunteers is alive and well, and HR 2703 has simply been “rolled into” a much larger bill introduced by Murphy, and exists as Title X in the Helping Families in Mental Health Issues Act of 2013 or HR 3717, the aide added.

Unveiled on the eve of the first anniversary of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Conn., HR 3717 has received overwhelming support and editorial endorsements, hailing the proposed legislation as the reform necessary in helping before the next Adam Lanza strikes.

Murphy, a psychologist, recently said, “By allowing doctors, dentists, and nurses to volunteer at federally funded health centers and mental health clinics, my Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act will expand care to millions of Americans without raising the bills for families or taxpayers.”

Murphy is a three-time recipient of the Distinguished Community Health Champion Award, awarded by the PA Association of Community Health Centers, a board on which MtJoy serves.

The award was presented to Murphy, who has been a big supporter of FQHCs and advocate for mental health reform, because of his work in advancing legislation, MtJoy said.

Regarding HR 2703, the bill for which he testified in November, MtJoy said, “It is a very small bill in a very big world.”