fee of the witness is in any way contingent on the outcome of the lawsuit. (e) State flexibility No provision of this section shall be construed to preempt any State law (whether effective before, on, or after the date of the enactment of this Act) that places additional qualification requirements upon any individual testifying as an expert witness. 390. Communications following unanticipated outcome (a) Provider communications In any health care liability action, any and all statements, affirmations, gestures, or conduct expressing apology, fault, sympathy, commiseration, condolence, compassion, or a general sense of benevolence which are made by a health care provider or an employee of a health care provider to the patient, a relative of the patient, or a representative of the patient and which relate to the discomfort, pain, suffering, injury, or death of the patient as the result of the unanticipated outcome of medical care shall be inadmissible for any purpose as evidence of an admission of liability or as evidence of an admission against interest. (b) State flexibility No provision of this section shall be construed to preempt any State law (whether effective before, on, or after the date of the enactment of this Act) that makes additional communications inadmissible as evidence of an admission of liability or as evidence of an admission against interest. 391. Affidavit of merit (a) Required filing Subject to subsection (b), the plaintiff in a health care lawsuit alleging negligence or, if the plaintiff is represented by an attorney, the plaintiff’s attorney shall file simultaneously with the health care lawsuit an affidavit of merit signed by a health professional who meets the requirements for an expert witness under section 242 of this Act. The affidavit of merit shall certify that the health professional has reviewed the notice and all medical records supplied to him or her by the plaintiff’s attorney concerning the allegations contained in the notice and shall contain a statement of each of the