,,ii #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #djhf ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,march #ab1 #bjbf,mr4 ,murphy introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions ,a ,,bill ,to establish protections for health care providers who raise concerns about the quality of health care services1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,patient ,safety and ,whistleblower ,protections ,act4 #b4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,the term communicate1 with respect to health care safety information1 includes written or oral communications4 7#b7 ,the term government official means any local1 ,state1 ,tribal1 or ,federal governmental official1 including municipal mayors and their staff1 ,state governors and their staff1 ,state legislators and their staff1 ,federal legislators and their staff1 and staff or leaders of ,federal agencies or other ,federal authorities4 7#c7 ,the term health care facility means a facility in which health care services are provided1 including any hospitals1 ambulatory surgery centers1 skilled nursing facilities1 home health agencies1 clinics1 urgent care centers1 physician offices1 dental offices1 end-stage renal facilities1 chiropractic offices1 optometry offices1 ophthalmology offices1 nursing homes1 behavioral health centers1 community mental health centers1 addiction treatment facilities1 rehabilitation centers1 hospices1 outpatient therapy facilities1 and federally-qualified health centers4 7#d7 ,the term health care practitioner means an individual who is licensed by a ,state1 or otherwise authorized1 to provide health care services4 7#e7 ,the term health care service means care1 treatment1 services1 or other procedures to maintain1 diagnose1 or otherwise affect an individual's physical or mental condition4 ,such term includes medical1 paramedical1 nursing1 chiropractic1 dental1 behavioral1 psychiatric1 psychological1 and vision services4 7#f7 ,the term patient safety concern means a communication regarding a concern that materially affects the health of one of more patients or that has the potential to materially affect the health of one or more patients1 including a concern about-- 7,a7 the quality of health care1 patient safety1 or staffing practices1 such as the type of health care practitioner caring for patients or the number of patients for whom a health care practitioner is responsible2 or 7,b7 the sufficiency of equipment or supplies for the health care services provided1 or the appropriateness of health care services or referrals for patients4 7#g7 ,the term retaliation means any adverse employment action against a health care practitioner or any other materially adverse action that would dissuade a reasonable health care practitioner from raising patient safety concerns1 including adverse actions against a health care practitioner who is no longer employed by1 contracting with1 or otherwise providing health care services at the health facility to which the patient safety concerns relate4 #c4 ,prohibition on retaliation 7a7 ,in general ,a health care facility may not retaliate against a health care practitioner for communicating about patient safety concerns1 including any written or oral patient safety concerns communicated to-- 7#a7 any supervisors1 colleagues1 or another individuals with authority over health care services or the clinical or financial operations of the health care facility2 7#b7 a ,state authority with oversight of health care services1 health care practitioners1 or health care facilities2 7#c7 a government official1 including communications at a hearing1 in response to written or oral questions from government officials1 or in a meeting1 phone call1 email1 or other communication2 7#d7 a patient safety organization1 as defined in section #iba of the ,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bii;b-#ba72 7#e7 any individual1 organization1 or other body investigating patient safety concerns in response to a communication made by another health care practitioner2 or 7#f7 only after #ij days following a communication to a person described in paragraphs 7#a71 7#b71 or 7#d7 that did not result in significant corrective action1 to the news media or press4 7b7 ,rebuttable presumption ,there shall be a rebuttable presumption that any adverse employment action or other materially adverse action against the health care practitioner within #ahj days of the health care practitioner communicating about patient safety concerns is retaliation4 7c7 ,attribution to health care facility ,any retaliation by a health care practitioner1 manager1 supervisor1 executive1 staffing company1 provider organization that contracts to provide services at the health care facility1 or management services company shall be attributed to the health care facility that is the subject of patient safety concerns4 ,a health care facility may seek indemnification or contribution from a staffing company1 provider organization that contracts to provide services at the health care facility1 or management services company for retaliation attributed to the health care facility under this subsection4 7d7 ,clarification ,nothing in this section prohibits any adverse employment action or other materially adverse action against a health care practitioner that is not in retaliation for communicating about patient safety concerns4 7e7 ,inapplicability of certain contractual provisions ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 any contractual provision that would prohibit a provider from communicating about patient safety concerns1 or otherwise speaking truthfully about the quality of health care services1 shall be null and void4 7f7 ,inapplicability of non-,competition provisions ,a health care practitioner who communicates about patient safety concerns shall be released from any existing non-competition agreement with the employer or contractor of the health care practitioner if the non-competition agreement relates to the health care practitioner's employment or contract work at the health facility that is the subject of patient safety concerns4 7g7 ,bad faith communications ,nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting a civil lawsuit against a health care practitioner who communicated about patient safety concerns in bad faith1 if an independent investigation has determined that the patient safety concerns were not valid4 #d4 ,enforcement 7a7 ,individual actions 7#a7 ,in general ,a health care facility that retaliates against a health care practitioner for communicating patient safety concerns is liable to that practitioner in an amount equal to the sums determined in paragraph 7#b74 7#b7 ,damages ,in an individual action under paragraph 7#a71 the sum awarded for liability is equal to-- 7,a7 actual damage sustained by the health care practitioner2 7,b7 attorney's fees and costs2 and 7,c7 punitive damages of up to #a1jjj1jjj4 7b7 ,class actions 7#a7 ,in general ,class actions are authorized for health care practitioners who communicate patient safety concerns at the same health care facility or at different health care facilities under the same management or ownership4 ,the subject of patient safety concerns or the form of retaliation need not be identical to establish a common scheme of retaliating against health care practitioners who communicate patient safety concerns4 7#b7 ,damages ,in a class action under paragraph 7#a71 the sum awarded for liability is equal to-- 7,a7 the greater of #aj1jjj or actual damages for each named individual2 7,b7 a total amount for all other class members1 without regard to a minimum individual recovery amount1 of the greatest of-- 7i7 actual damages2 7ii7 #ejj1jjj2 7iii7 #a percent of the net worth of the defendant health care facility2 or 7iv7 if the defendant health care facility is fully owned1 directly or indirectly1 by another entity or entities1 and1 among all such entities that own such facility1 the entity with the highest net worth owns at least #a other health care facility at which retaliation for raising patient safety concerns is alleged in another action under this section or in a complaint described in subsection 7d77#a71 #a percent of the net worth of such entity with the highest net worth that owns the health care facility2 and 7,c7 attorney's fees and costs4 7c7 ,statute of limitations ,any action alleging retaliation for communicating patient safety concerns under this section may be commenced not later than #c years after the last action that is alleged to be retaliatory occurs4 7d7 ,requirements prior ,to bring an action ,an action alleging retaliation for communicating patient safety concerns may be filed-- 7#a7 after the health care practitioner-- 7,a7 files a complaint with the ,state authority that licenses or otherwise oversees the health care facility that is the subject of the complaint2 and 7,b7 in the case that the health facility that is the subject of patient safety concerns is a hospital1 files a complaint with the ,joint ,commission on ,hospital ,accreditation2 and 7#b7 not earlier than the date on which-- 7,a7 the ,state authority described in paragraph 7#a77;,a7 completes its investigation pursuant to such paragraph1 and1 as applicable1 the ,joint ,commission on ,hospital ,accreditation described in paragraph 7#a77;,b7 completes its investigation pursuant to such paragraph2 or 7,b7 #ahj days after the filing of a complaint under paragraph 7#a77;,a7 and1 if applicable1 a complaint under paragraph 7#a77;,b74 #e4 ,professional liability actions ,in any civil or criminal action against a health care facility or health care practitioner relating to professional liability1 communications about patient safety concerns made by the health care practitioner that is the subject of the civil or criminal action may not be used to draw an adverse inference about the quality of health care services provided by the health care practitioner4 ,the preceding sentence shall only apply if communications about patient safety concerns were made by the health care practitioner prior to the filing of the civil or criminal action against the health care facility or health care practitioner4 #f4 ,requiring the reporting and resolution of patient safety concerns for providers of services participating in ,medicare 7a7 ,in general ,section #ahff7;a77#a7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acie;cc7a77#a77 is amended-- 7#a7 by moving subparagraphs 7,w7 and 7,x7 #b ems to the left2 7#b7 in subparagraph 7,x71 by striking and at the end2 7#c7 in subparagraph 7,y71 by striking the period at the end and inserting 1 and2 and 7#d7 by inserting after subparagraph 7,y7 the following new subparagraph3 7,z7 to establish-- 7i7 a mechanism that allows a health care provider or practitioner to anonymously report patient safety concerns2 and 7ii7 a process for investigating and addressing any patient safety concern reported to the provider of services4 4 7b7 ,effective date ,the amendments made by subsection 7a7 shall take effect #a year after the date of enactment of this ,act4 #g4 ,impact on other laws with respect to reporting patient safety concerns ,nothing in this ,act1 including the amendments made by this ,act1 shall be construed to limit or supersede the protections for health care providers with respect to reporting patient safety events pursuant to part ,c of title ,,ix of the ,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bii;b-#ba et seq47 or any other ,federal or ,state law on patient safety reporting4