# 119-hr-8310: Patient Safety and Whistleblower Protections Act 119-hr-8310, Patient Safety and Whistleblower Protections Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Scanlon, Mary Gay [D-PA-5] (D-PA); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-21). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8310 - As of: 2026-09-21 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: 119-hr-8310 - Congress: 119 - Title: Patient Safety and Whistleblower Protections Act - Status: introduced - Introduced: 2026-04-15 - Sponsor: Rep. Scanlon, Mary Gay [D-PA-5] (D-PA) - Cosponsors: 0 - Policy area: Health - Touches household money: yes - Last recorded action: 2026-09-21 ## Summary **Protects health care practitioners who report patient safety concerns from retaliation.** This bill creates a federal framework that defines covered communications, bars employer retaliation for raising patient safety issues, creates a rebuttable presumption if adverse action follows within 180 days, and provides civil remedies and class-action rules. - Workers: Health care practitioners are protected when they report concerns to supervisors, state health authorities, patient safety organizations, or investigators. If an adverse employment action happens within 180 days a presumption of retaliation helps the worker's claim. - Facilities and contractors: Retaliation is attributed to the health care facility, though facilities can seek indemnification from staffing or management firms. Contractual gag clauses about safety reports are void and non-compete terms related to the facility are waived, and individual punitive damages can reach $1.0 million. - Patients and hospitals: Medicare-participating providers must provide an anonymous way to report patient safety concerns and must investigate and address those concerns. That Medicare reporting and investigation requirement takes effect one year after enactment. ## Provisions PRIA read - Large damages for reporter retaliation: benefit, high. If enacted, a practitioner who wins an individual retaliation suit would recover actual damages, attorneys' fees and costs, and punitive damages capped at $1,000,000. Class actions would be allowed for reporters at the same facility or under the same owner. In a class, each named plaintiff would ge… - Medicare providers must set up reporting: benefit, medium. If enacted, providers that participate in Medicare would have one year after enactment to set up an anonymous way for staff to report patient-safety concerns. Those providers would also need a process to investigate and address reported concerns. These rules would apply to Medicare-participating pr… - Protections for health worker reporters: mixed, medium. If enacted, the bill would bar health care facilities from retaliating when practitioners report patient-safety concerns. It would protect written and oral reports and define covered facilities and practitioners. Reports to supervisors, state authorities, inspectors, patient safety organizations, o… ## Related bills - 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025 - 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act - 119-hr-7481: Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2026 - 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act - 119-hr-4714: End Polluter Welfare Act of 2025 - 119-hr-5658: Child Care for Every Community Act ## Sources - [119-hr-8310 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/8310) ## Related - [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151) - [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977) - [119-hr-7481: Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7481) - [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973) - [119-hr-4714: End Polluter Welfare Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4714) - [119-hr-5658: Child Care for Every Community Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5658) - [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8310 (as of 2026-09-21).