NM
New Mexico House Bill HB337

New Mexico 2025 Regular Session

New Mexico House Bill HB337 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.
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2828 HOUSE BILL 337
2929 57
3030 TH LEGISLATURE
3131 -
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3333 STATE
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3535 OF
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3737 NEW
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3939 MEXICO
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4242 FIRST SESSION
4343 ,
4444
4545 2025
4646 INTRODUCED BY
4747 Pamelya Herndon
4848 AN ACT
4949 RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT; ENACTING THE HEALTH CARE WHISTLEBLOWER
5050 PROTECTION ACT; PROHIBITING HEALTH CARE ENTITY RETALIATORY
5151 ACTIONS IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES; CREATING A RIGHT TO CIVIL
5252 ACTION FOR DAMAGES.
5353 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
5454 SECTION 1. [NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--This act may be
5555 cited as the "Health Care Whistleblower Protection Act".
5656 SECTION 2. [NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the
5757 Health Care Whistleblower Protection Act:
5858 A. "federally qualified health center" means a
5959 health facility that the United States department of health and
6060 human services has deemed to qualify for federal funds as a
6161 federally qualified health center;
6262 B. "good faith" means a reasonable basis exists in
6363 .229586.4 underscored material = new
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9090 fact as evidenced by the facts available;
9191 C. "health care entity" means a person that
9292 provides or supports the provision of health care services to
9393 patients in New Mexico, including a hospital, a health care
9494 provider, an in-state or out-of-state telemedicine provider, a
9595 health care staffing company, a health care provider
9696 organization, a health care facility, a management services
9797 organization or an organization of health care providers or
9898 facilities; provided that "health care entity" does not mean a
9999 federally qualified health center or an independent health care
100100 practice;
101101 D. "health care facility" means a hospital or other
102102 facility licensed by the health care authority to provide
103103 health care services in a health care setting, including
104104 inpatient facilities; health systems consisting of one or more
105105 health care entities that are jointly owned or managed;
106106 ambulatory surgery or treatment centers; residential treatment
107107 centers; diagnostic, laboratory and imaging centers;
108108 freestanding emergency facilities' outpatient clinics and
109109 rehabilitation facilities; hospice centers; long-term care
110110 facilities; and other therapeutic health settings; provided
111111 that "health care facility" does not include adult daycare
112112 facilities, freestanding birth centers, skilled nursing
113113 facilities, intermediate care facilities, boarding homes, child
114114 care facilities or shelter care homes;
115115 .229586.4
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143143 E. "health care provider" means a person certified,
144144 registered, licensed or otherwise authorized pursuant to state
145145 law to perform or provide health care services to individuals
146146 in the state;
147147 F. "health care services" means the care,
148148 prevention, diagnosis, treatment or relief of an illness,
149149 injury, disease or other medical, dental, mental or behavioral
150150 health or substance use disorder condition, including:
151151 (1) inpatient, outpatient, habilitative,
152152 rehabilitative, dental, palliative, home health, hospice or
153153 mental or behavioral health services provided by a health care
154154 entity; and
155155 (2) retail and specialty pharmacy, including
156156 provision of drugs;
157157 G. "health care staffing company" means a person
158158 engaged in the business of providing, procuring for employment
159159 or contracting health care personnel for a health care
160160 facility, but "health care staffing company" does not include
161161 an individual who independently provides the individual's own
162162 services to a health care facility as an employee or a
163163 contractor;
164164 H. "hospital" means a hospital licensed by the
165165 health care authority but does not include state-owned special
166166 hospitals operated by the department of health;
167167 I. "independent health care practice" means a
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196196 health care provider organization entirely owned or controlled
197197 by one or more health care providers who are individuals and
198198 who provide health care services through the health care
199199 provider organization to patients in New Mexico;
200200 J. "long-term care facility" means a nursing home
201201 licensed by the health care authority to provide intermediate
202202 or skilled nursing care;
203203 K. "management services organization" means a
204204 person that contracts with a health care entity to perform or
205205 provide personnel to perform all or substantially all of the
206206 administrative or management services relating to supporting or
207207 facilitating the provision of health care services;
208208 L. "retaliatory action" means any discriminatory or
209209 adverse action taken by a health care entity against a
210210 whistleblower, including termination, discharge, demotion,
211211 suspension, compensation and fringe benefit losses, harassment
212212 and limitations on access to health care services that
213213 constitute a substantial and specific danger to patients,
214214 consumers or the public;
215215 M. "telemedicine provider" means a provider who
216216 uses telecommunications and information technology to provide
217217 clinical health care from a distance to evaluate, diagnose and
218218 treat patients in real time or asynchronously;
219219 N. "unlawful or improper act" means a practice,
220220 procedure, action or failure to act on the part a health care
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249249 entity that:
250250 (1) violates a federal law or regulation, a
251251 state law or rule or a law of any political subdivision of the
252252 state;
253253 (2) is illegal, unsafe or fraudulent; or
254254 (3) constitutes:
255255 (a) malfeasance;
256256 (b) gross mismanagement;
257257 (c) a waste of funds;
258258 (d) a misrepresentation;
259259 (e) an abuse of authority; or
260260 (f) a substantial and specific danger to
261261 patients, consumers or the public; and
262262 O. "whistleblower" means:
263263 (1) a health care provider who reveals
264264 information about an unlawful or improper act by a health care
265265 entity;
266266 (2) a patient, including a patient's family
267267 member or guardian, who reveals information about an unlawful
268268 or improper act by a health care entity;
269269 (3) a volunteer who reveals information about
270270 an unlawful or improper act by a health care entity;
271271 (4) a consumer who reveals information about
272272 an unlawful or improper act by a health care entity; and
273273 (5) an officer, board member, employee,
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302302 contractor, subcontractor or authorized agent of a health care
303303 entity who reveals information about an unlawful or improper
304304 act by a health care entity.
305305 SECTION 3. [NEW MATERIAL] CONFIDENTIALITY.--The identity
306306 of a whistleblower shall remain confidential unless the
307307 whistleblower consents in writing to the release of the
308308 whistleblower's identity.
309309 SECTION 4. [NEW MATERIAL] RETALIATORY ACTION
310310 PROHIBITED.--A health care entity shall not take retaliatory
311311 action against a whistleblower who:
312312 A. discloses to the state, the attorney general,
313313 the health care authority or any other federal, state or local
314314 government agency information about an action or a failure to
315315 act that the whistleblower believes in good faith constitutes
316316 an unlawful or improper act;
317317 B. provides information to or testifies before a
318318 public body as part of an investigation, a hearing or an
319319 inquiry into an alleged unlawful or improper act on the part of
320320 a health care entity; or
321321 C. objects to or refuses to participate in an
322322 activity, a policy or a practice that the whistleblower
323323 believes in good faith constitutes an unlawful or improper act.
324324 SECTION 5. [NEW MATERIAL] RIGHT TO CIVIL ACTION FOR
325325 DAMAGES--AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES--REMEDY NOT EXCLUSIVE.--
326326 A. A health care entity that violates the
327327 .229586.4
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355355 provisions of the Health Care Whistleblower Protection Act
356356 shall be liable to a whistleblower who is an employee, a
357357 contractor, a subcontractor or an authorized agent of the
358358 health care entity for actual damages, reinstatement with the
359359 same seniority status that the whistleblower as described in
360360 this subsection would have had but for the violation, two times
361361 the amount of back pay with interest on the back pay and
362362 compensation for any special damage sustained as a result of
363363 the violation. In addition, the health care entity shall be
364364 required to pay the litigation costs and reasonable attorney
365365 fees of the whistleblower. A whistleblower may bring an action
366366 pursuant to this section in a court of competent jurisdiction.
367367 B. It shall be an affirmative defense to a civil
368368 action brought pursuant to this section that the action taken
369369 by a health care entity against a whistleblower was due to
370370 misconduct, poor job performance or other legitimate business
371371 purpose unrelated to conduct prohibited pursuant to the Health
372372 Care Whistleblower Protection Act and that retaliatory action
373373 was not a motivating factor.
374374 C. A whistleblower who is not an employee, a
375375 contractor, a subcontractor or an authorized agent of a health
376376 care entity and who, as a result of being a whistleblower, has
377377 been subjected to reprisal or retaliatory action may initiate a
378378 civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction to enjoin
379379 further violations, recover actual damages sustained by the
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408408 whistleblower and recover the cost of the suit, including
409409 reasonable attorney fees. The court shall award reasonable
410410 attorney fees in favor of the health care entity if the civil
411411 action was initiated by a whistleblower who is not an employee,
412412 a contractor, a subcontractor or an authorized agent of a
413413 health care entity and the court finds that the health care
414414 entity has not engaged in the alleged reprisal or retaliatory
415415 action and the complaint was frivolous, unreasonable or
416416 groundless.
417417 D. The remedies provided for in the Health Care
418418 Whistleblower Protection Act are not exclusive and shall be in
419419 addition to any other remedies provided for in any other
420420 statute or available pursuant to common law.
421421 E. The rights and remedies provided in this section
422422 shall not be waived by an agreement, a policy form or a
423423 condition of employment. Any employment agreement requiring
424424 arbitration shall not prevent any litigation pursuant to the
425425 Health Care Whistleblower Protection Act.
426426 F. Nothing in the Health Care Whistleblower
427427 Protection Act shall be deemed to diminish the rights,
428428 privileges or remedies pursuant to any federal or state law or
429429 pursuant to any collective bargaining agreement.
430430 SECTION 6. [NEW MATERIAL] POSTING OF LAW AND
431431 INFORMATION.--Every health care entity shall adopt and enforce
432432 a whistleblower protection policy that, at a minimum, meets the
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461461 requirements of the Health Care Whistleblower Protection Act to
462462 protect health care whistleblowers from any form of retaliatory
463463 action by the health care entity. A notice of this policy
464464 shall be visibly posted in public areas at each health care
465465 entity's workplace, published on the health care entity's
466466 website and given, by either written or electronic
467467 communication, to every officer, employee, contractor or other
468468 agent of the health care entity. The notice shall be published
469469 in English and in Spanish and shall inform patients, residents,
470470 volunteers, employees and visitors that if they report in good
471471 faith acts that are unlawful or improper, they are protected
472472 against recriminations by the Health Care Whistleblower
473473 Protection Act.
474474 SECTION 7. [NEW MATERIAL] LIMITATION ON ACTIONS.--A civil
475475 action pursuant to the Health Care Whistleblower Protection Act
476476 shall be barred unless the action is filed within two years
477477 from the date on which the retaliatory action occurred.
478478 SECTION 8. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the
479479 provisions of this act is July 1, 2025.
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