H.R. 8310

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8310 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8310

To establish protections for health care providers who raise concerns 
about the quality of health care services, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

April 15, 2026

Ms. Scanlon introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on 
Ways and Means, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently 
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To establish protections for health care providers who raise concerns 
about the quality of health care services, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Patient Safety and Whistleblower 
Protections Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:
(1) The term ``communicate'', with respect to health care 
safety information, includes written or oral communications.
(2) The term ``government official'' means any local, 
State, Tribal, or Federal Governmental official, including 
municipal mayors and their staff, State governors and their 
staff, State legislators and their staff, Federal legislators 
and their staff, and staff or leaders of Federal agencies or 
other Federal authorities.
(3) The term ``health care facility'' means a facility in 
which health care services are provided, including any 
hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, skilled nursing 
facilities, home health agencies, clinics, urgent care centers, 
physician offices, dental offices, end-stage renal facilities, 
chiropractic offices, optometry offices, ophthalmology offices, 
nursing homes, behavioral health centers, community mental 
health centers, addiction treatment facilities, rehabilitation 
centers, hospices, outpatient therapy facilities, and Federally 
qualified health centers.
(4) The term ``health care practitioner'' means an 
individual who is licensed by a State, or otherwise authorized, 
to provide health care services.
(5) The term ``health care service'' means care, treatment, 
services, or other procedures to maintain, diagnose, or 
otherwise affect an individual's physical or mental condition. 
Such term includes medical, paramedical, nursing, chiropractic, 
dental, behavioral, psychiatric, psychological, and vision 
services.
(6) 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 patients, including 
a concern about--
(A) the quality of health care, patient safety, or 
staffing practices, such as the type of health care 
practitioner caring for patients or the number of 
patients for whom a health care practitioner is 
responsible; or
(B) the sufficiency of equipment or supplies for 
the health care services provided, or the 
appropriateness of health care services or referrals 
for patients.
(7) 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 concerns, 
including adverse actions against a health care practitioner 
who is no longer employed by, contracting with, or otherwise 
providing health care services at the health facility to which 
the patient safety concerns relate.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON RETALIATION.

(a) In General.--A health care facility may not retaliate against a 
health care practitioner for communicating about patient safety 
concerns, including any written or oral patient safety concerns 
communicated to--
(1) any supervisors, colleagues, or another individuals 
with authority over health care services or the clinical or 
financial operations of the health care facility;
(2) a State authority with oversight of health care 
services, health care practitioners, or health care facilities;
(3) a government official, including communications at a 
hearing, in response to written or oral questions from a 
government officials, or in a meeting, phone call, email, or 
other communication;
(4) a patient safety organization, as defined in section 
921 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 299b-21);
(5) any individual, organization, or other body 
investigating patient safety concerns in response to a 
communication made by another health care practitioner; or
(6) only after 90 days following a communication to a 
person described in paragraphs (1), (2), or (4) that did not 
result in significant corrective action, to the news media or 
press.
(b) Rebuttable Presumption.--There shall be a rebuttable 
presumption that any adverse employment action or other materially 
adverse action against the health care practitioner within 180 days of 
the health care practitioner communicating about patient safety 
concerns is retaliation.
(c) Attribution to Health Care Facility.--Any retaliation by a 
health care practitioner, manager, supervisor, executive, staffing 
company, provider organization that contracts to provide services at 
the health care facility, or management services company shall be 
attributed to the health care facility that is the subject of the 
patient safety concerns. A health care facility may seek 
indemnification or contribution from a staffing company, provider 
organization that contracts to provide services at the health care 
facility, or management services company for retaliation attributed to 
the health care facility under this subsection.
(d) 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 concerns.
(e) Inapplicability of Certain Contractual Provisions.--
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any contractual provision 
that would prohibit a provider from communicating about patient safety 
concerns, or otherwise speaking truthfully about the quality of health 
care services, shall be null and void.
(f) 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 the patient 
safety concerns.
(g) 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 
faith, if an independent investigation has determined that the patient 
safety concerns were not valid.

SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT.

(a) Individual Actions.--
(1) 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 (2).
(2) Damages.--In an individual action under paragraph (1), 
the sum awarded for liability is equal to--
(A) actual damage sustained by the health care 
practitioner;
(B) attorney's fees and costs; and
(C) punitive damages of up to $1,000,000.
(b) Class Actions.--
(1) 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 ownership. The subject 
of the 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 concerns.
(2) Damages.--In a class action under paragraph (1), the 
sum awarded for liability is equal to--
(A) the greater of $10,000 or actual damages for 
each named individual;
(B) a total amount for all other class members, 
without regard to a minimum individual recovery amount, 
of the greatest of--
(i) actual damages;
(ii) $500,000;
(iii) 1 percent of the net worth of the 
defendant health care facility; or
(iv) if the defendant health care facility 
is fully owned, directly or indirectly, by 
another entity or entities, and, among all such 
entities that own such facility, the entity 
with the highest net worth owns at least 1 
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 (d)(1), 1 
percent of the net worth of such entity with 
the highest net worth that owns the health care 
facility; and
(C) attorney's fees and costs.
(c) Statute of Limitations.--Any action alleging retaliation for 
communicating patient safety concerns under this section may be 
commenced not later than 3 years after the last action that is alleged 
to be retaliatory occurs.
(d) Requirements Prior To Bring an Action.--An action alleging 
retaliation for communicating patient safety concerns may be filed--
(1) after the health care practitioner--
(A) files a complaint with the State authority that 
licenses or otherwise oversees the health care facility 
that is the subject of the complaint; and
(B) in the case that the health facility that is 
the subject of the patient safety concerns is a 
hospital, files a complaint with the Joint Commission 
on Hospital Accreditation; and
(2) not earlier than the date on which--
(A) the State authority described in paragraph 
(1)(A) completes its investigation pursuant to such 
paragraph, and, as applicable, the Joint Commission on 
Hospital Accreditation described in paragraph (1)(B) 
completes its investigation pursuant to such paragraph; 
or
(B) 180 days after the filing of a complaint under 
paragraph (1)(A) and, if applicable, a complaint under 
paragraph (1)(B).

SEC. 5. PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY ACTIONS.

In any civil or criminal action against a health care facility or 
health care practitioner relating to professional liability, 
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 practitioner. The preceding 
sentence shall only apply if the 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 practitioner.

SEC. 6. REQUIRING THE REPORTING AND RESOLUTION OF PATIENT SAFETY 
CONCERNS FOR PROVIDERS OF SERVICES PARTICIPATING IN 
MEDICARE.

(a) In General.--Section 1866(a)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1395cc(a)(1)) is amended--
(1) by moving subparagraphs (W) and (X) 2 ems to the left;
(2) in subparagraph (X), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(3) in subparagraph (Y), by striking the period at the end 
and inserting ``, and''; and
(4) by inserting after subparagraph (Y) the following new 
subparagraph:
``(Z) to establish--
``(i) a mechanism that allows a health care 
provider or practitioner to anonymously report patient 
safety concerns; and
``(ii) a process for investigating and addressing 
any patient safety concern reported to the provider of 
services.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall 
take effect 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 7. IMPACT ON OTHER LAWS WITH RESPECT TO REPORTING PATIENT SAFETY 
CONCERNS.

Nothing in this Act, including the amendments made by this Act, 
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 (42 U.S.C. 299b-
21 et seq.) or any other Federal or State law on patient safety 
reporting.
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