Patient Safety and Whistleblower Protections Act
Sponsored By: Senator Christopher Murphy
Introduced
Summary
Protecting health care practitioners who report patient safety concerns from employer retaliation is the core goal of this bill. It would ban retaliation, create strong legal remedies for workers, and require Medicare providers to set up anonymous safety reporting and investigations.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.
New legal remedies, timing, and employer liability rules
This bill would let practitioners sue facilities that retaliate and sets clear damage rules. In an individual case you could get actual damages, attorney fees and punitive damages up to $1,000,000. In a class suit, each named plaintiff would get at least $10,000 or their actual damages, and other class members would share the larger of total actual damages, $500,000, or 1% of the facility's net worth (a special ownership rule can make 1% apply to the owner's net worth). A rebuttable presumption of retaliation would apply if an adverse act occurs within 180 days of your report, and suits must be started within 3 years of the last alleged retaliatory act. Before filing suit you would need to file a complaint with the State licensing authority (and, for hospitals, the Joint Commission) and wait for the State investigation or 180 days. The bill would treat acts by staff or contractors as the facility's acts, let the facility seek indemnity or contribution from staffing or contractor firms, and would allow a facility to sue a practitioner if an independent investigation finds a report was made in bad faith.
Workplace whistleblower protections for clinicians
This bill would bar health care facilities from punishing practitioners for reporting patient safety concerns. It would protect written and oral reports to supervisors, state oversight, government officials, patient safety groups, and investigators. Going to the news would be protected only after 90 days if earlier reports did not lead to significant corrective action. The bill would void contract clauses that gag safety speech and would release you from a non-compete tied to the facility if you reported safety concerns. A report you made before a malpractice or criminal case would not be used to suggest you gave poor care.
Medicare providers must offer anonymous reporting
This bill would require Medicare-participating providers to set up anonymous ways for staff to report patient safety concerns. Providers would also need a process to investigate and address any reported concern. These Medicare rules would take effect one year after enactment. The bill also says it would not reduce other federal or state patient-safety reporting protections.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Christopher Murphy
CT • D
Cosponsors
There are no cosponsors for this bill.
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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