Patient Safety and Whistleblower Protections Act

This bill would bar health care facilities from retaliating against doctors, nurses, and other licensed health care workers who raise patient safety concerns with supervisors, state agencies, government officials, or patient safety organizations, or with the news media after 90 days without corrective action. Any adverse action within 180 days of raising a concern would be presumed to be retaliation, and contract terms that block workers from speaking about patient safety would be void. Workers who face retaliation could sue for actual damages, legal fees, and up to $1,000,000 in punitive damages, and class actions would be allowed, after first filing complaints with state regulators. Hospitals and other providers in Medicare would have to set up a way for workers to report safety concerns anonymously and a process to investigate them.

Full text and official record on Congress.gov

Sponsors

• Christopher Murphy Democrat sponsor
• 0 cosponsors