HB 246 Summary

• Enacts the Uniform Emergency Volunteer Healthcare Practitioners Act to allow out-of-state licensed health care practitioners and veterinarians to practice in Mississippi during declared emergencies without obtaining a Mississippi license.

• Requires volunteer health care practitioners to register with an approved registration system that verifies their licensure and good standing before providing emergency services.

• Limits volunteer practitioners to their scope of practice as defined by their home state license and allows the State Department of Health to modify or restrict services during emergencies.

• Provides liability protection for out-of-state emergency health care providers except when damages result from reckless disregard for patient consequences; emergency medical examiners and coroners are protected except for gross negligence or willful misconduct.

• Amends multiple Mississippi licensing statutes (physicians, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, veterinarians, and other practitioners) to clarify that licensed volunteer practitioners may practice within their scope during emergency declarations.