The past week has seen rapid progress for extending Covid-19 legal protection for healthcare providers, hospitals and nursing homes set to expire March 29.

Thursday the Senate Rules Committee approved SB 7014 for consideration this week on the Senate floor, and on Friday the House Health & Human Services Committee approved the House version of the bill.

Both versions would provide protection until June 1, 2023.

These bills are extensions of legislation passed last year that still allows for Covid-19 related lawsuits against providers, but the standard of proof demanded of plaintiffs is “by the greater weight of the evidence that the health care provider was grossly negligent or engaged in intentional misconduct.”