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Read. Follow. Verify.Pennsylvania Prohibits Health Care Facility Retaliation Against Patients and Workers
Last action · January 22, 2025: Referred to JUDICIARY, Jan. 22, 2025Sponsors: Joe Ciresi and 13 others
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What This Bill Would Do
Pennsylvania House Bill 226 prohibits health care facilities and their parent entities from retaliating or discriminating against patients and medical personnel who file grievances, report quality-of-care issues, or participate in administrative investigations. The measure establishes legal s if negative actions occur within specific timelines, authorizes the Secretary of Health to issue civil penalties up to $25,000, establishes criminal misdemeanor penalties with fines up to $20,000 for willful violations, and takes effect in 60 days.
Patients and medical workers gain legal protections when reporting facility safety concerns, while health care employers face fines up to $25,000, criminal misdemeanor charges, and mandatory restitution for retaliatory terminations, demotions, or discriminatory treatment.
- House Bill 226 was introduced in the Pennsylvania General Assembly on January 22, 2025, by Representative Ciresi and multiple co-sponsors. context
- Whistleblower and anti-retaliation protections in health care are designed to ensure patient safety reporting without fear of job loss or professional reprisal. context
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Patients
Patients gain legal protections against discrimination or retaliation after filing grievances or complaints regarding facility care.
Medical personnel
Medical staff and employees are protected from adverse employment actions like discharge or demotion when reporting quality-of-care issues.
Health care facilities
Facilities and their governing entities face civil penalties up to $25,000, criminal fines, and mandatory restitution for retaliatory actions.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What actions trigger protections for patients and medical personnel under this bill?
What penalties can a health care facility face for violating the anti-retaliation rules?
Are incarcerated individuals covered under this legislation?
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News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
1 action- Jan 22, 2025HouseCommitteeReferred to JUDICIARY, Jan. 22, 2025
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Show 9 more sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Establishment of Statutory Rebuttable Presumptions in Healthcare Retaliation
The bill shifts the evidentiary burden by establishing strict 120-day and 180-day windows where adverse actions against reporting workers and patients are presumed retaliatory.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.palegis.us
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy50Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz35Current news / social attention level
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