AUSTIN — Health care workers in Texas would have whistleblower protections for reporting legal, regulatory and ethical violations under a bill the Senate passed Thursday.
The lawmakers voted 21-10 to send the proposal to the House.
The legislation would prohibit health care facilities, local governments, public officials, medical schools and state agencies, such as the Texas Medical Board, from taking adverse actions against a doctor or health care provider who reports such concerns.
Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, said Senate Bill 2043 promotes free speech and patient safety. In brief remarks Wednesday, he referenced a North Texas doctor who was accused by federal prosecutors of illegally obtaining private information on patients who weren’t his and sharing it with a conservative activist to harm the Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston.
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The activist reported that the hospital was covertly providing transgender care to minors. Though such care was legal at the time, the hospital in 2022 said it would stop gender-affirming care. A statewide ban on gender-affirming care for minors took effect in September 2023.
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