Murphy and Scanlon Introduce Bicameral Legislation to Protect Whistleblowers In the Health Care Industry

WASHINGTON, DC-U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and U.S. Representative Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.-05) on Monday introduced The Patient Safety and Whistleblower Protections Act, which provides legal protections for health care whistleblowers who speak out publicly on patient safety concerns.

While laws like the Federal Whistleblower Protection Act protect federal employees and contractors from retaliation, no such protections currently exist for health care workers who sound the alarm about threats to patient safety at health care facilities. As a result, health care workers put their jobs on the line when they choose to protect their patients and report on their employer. This legislation addresses a dangerous gap in legal protections at a time when the Trump administration's cuts to health care and private equity's takeover of hospitals and nursing homes has supercharged negligence and misconduct.

"When I was investigating the conditions at three Connecticut hospitals bought by a private equity firm, I relied on the nurses, doctors, and support staff to share the truth about what was happening inside those facilities," said Murphy. " As Donald Trump's health care cuts push more hospitals and nursing homes into the arms of private equity, we need to make sure that workers feel safe coming forward and calling out the greed and corruption that is destroying their ability to care for patients."

"Americans should be able to count on our hospitals and healthcare workers to prioritize patient care and safety," said Scanlon. "At a time when the Trump administration continues to prioritize corporate profits over Americans' health, healthcare workers should feel safe from employer retaliation when protecting patient care. I value Senator Murphy's partnership in introducing the Patient Safety and Whistle Blower Protections Act to provide legal protections to hospital workers who prioritize patient safety concerns."

Sen. Murphy's introduction of the The Patient Safety and Whistleblower Protections Act comes as the Senator releases his latest report on private equity's takeover of health care in the U.S. under the Trump administration: Aided and Abetted: How the Trump Administration is Helping Private Equity Take Over Health Care. The report details the Senator's policy proposals to reduce private equity's chokehold on our health care system, including protections for health care whistleblowers, and his bill The Take Back Our Hospitals Act, which Sen. Murphy also co-introduced with Rep. Scanlon to ban private equity from owning hospitals and nursing homes

For full text of the bill click here.