REFERENCE TITLE: nonretaliation policies; health care institutions

 

 

 

 

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-fourth Legislature

Second Regular Session

2020

 

 

HB 2529

 

Introduced by

Representative Shah

 

 

AN ACT

 

Amending section 36‑450.02, Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to health care institutions.

 

 

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

 


Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1.  Section 36-450.02, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE36-450.02.  Nonretaliatory policy; definition

A.  Each health care institution that is licensed pursuant to this chapter shall adopt a policy that prohibits retaliatory action by the health care institution or any of its third‑party contractors against a health professional who in good faith:

1.  Makes a report to the health care institution pursuant to the requirements of section 36‑450.01.

2.  Having provided the health care institution a reasonable opportunity to address the report, provides information to a private health care accreditation organization or governmental entity concerning the activity, policy or practice that was the subject of the report.

B.  This section does not prohibit a health care institution licensed pursuant to this chapter from taking action against a health professional for a purpose not related to a report filed pursuant to section 36‑450.01.

C.  Except as provided in section 23‑1501, subsection A, paragraph 3, subdivisions (a) and (c), this section shall only be enforced through the provisions of this chapter.

D.  There shall be a rebuttable presumption that any termination or other adverse action that occurs more than one hundred eighty days after the date of a report made pursuant to either subsection A, paragraph 1 or 2 of this section is not a retaliatory action.

E.  For the purposes of this section, "third‑party contractor" means an entity that contracts with the health care institution to provide health care services in the health care institution by contracting or hiring health professionals. END_STATUTE