PRIA Logo™
HR8310119th CongressWALLET

Patient Safety and Whistleblower Protections Act

Sponsored By: Representative Scanlon, Mary Gay [D-PA-5]

Introduced

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.

Show full summary
  • 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.

Personalized for You

How does this bill affect your finances?

Personalize government policy and PRIA will tell you what this bill means for your household, plus every other piece of legislation we track. PRIA reads each provision against your financial profile to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.

Free to download

Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

3 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.

Large damages for reporter retaliation

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 get the greater of $10,000 or actual damages. Other class members could recover the largest of actual damages, $500,000, or 1% of the facility's net worth (or, in a specified ownership case, 1% of the highest owner’s net worth). Attorneys' fees and costs would also be recoverable.

Medicare providers must set up reporting

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 providers nationwide.

Protections for health worker reporters

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, or government officials would be protected. The bill would create a rebuttable presumption of retaliation for adverse actions within 180 days of a report, and a 3-year time limit to sue. You would have to file a complaint first with the State licensing authority, and hospitals would also need a Joint Commission complaint, and you could not sue until those investigations finish or 180 days pass.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Scanlon, Mary Gay [D-PA-5]

PA • D

Cosponsors

There are no cosponsors for this bill.

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

View on Congress.gov
Back to Legislation