Bill Summary for S 515 (2021-2022)
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View NCGA Bill Details | 2021 |
AN ACT TO PROTECT THE RIGHT OF CONSCIENCE OF MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS, HEALTH CARE INSTITUTIONS, AND HEALTH CARE PAYERS.Intro. by Hise, Daniel, Sanderson.
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Bill summary
Includes whereas clauses.
Enacts new Article 1M, Heath Care Heroes Conscience Protection Act, providing as follows. Gives a medical practitioner, health care institution, or health care payer the right not to participate in or pay for any health care service which violates his, her, or its conscience. Defines conscience as (1) the religious, moral, or ethical beliefs or principles held by any medical practitioner, health care institution, or health care payer or (2) any published religious, moral, or ethical guidelines or directives, mission statements, articles of incorporation, bylaws, policies, or regulations published or created by institutional entities or corporate bodies. Provides immunity from civil, criminal, and administrative liability for exercising right of conscience not to participate in or pay for a health care service; extends the immunity from liability to health care institutions when the exercise of conscience right is by a medical practitioner employed, contracted, or granted admitting privileges by the health care institution. Makes it unlawful to discriminate against any medical practitioner, health care institution, or health care payer that refuses to participate in or pay for a health care service on the basis of conscience. Defines discrimination as any adverse action against any medical practitioner, health care payer, or health care institution as a result of his, her, or its decision to decline to participate in a health care service on the basis of conscience, including any of the 15 specified actions; excludes the negotiation or purchase of insurance by a nongovernmental entity.
Specifies that any medical practitioner, health care institution, or health care payer holding itself out to the public as religious, states in its governing documents that it has a religious purpose or mission, and has internal operating policies or procedures that implement its religious beliefs, has the right to make employment, staffing, contracting, and admitting privilege decisions consistent with its religious beliefs. Specifies that the Article does not override the requirement to provide emergency medical treatment.
Allows any medical practitioner, health care institution, or health care payer to bring a civil action for damages or injunctive relief for violations of this Article; prohibits bringing an action against an individual who declines to use or purchase health care services from a specific medical practitioner, health care institution, or health care payer for exercising the rights granted in this Article. Allows recovery of treble damages and costs of the action and reasonable attorneys' fees; also allows for injunctive relief.
Prohibits discriminating against a medical practitioner for: (1) providing, causing to be provided, or taking steps to provide or cause to be provided to his or her employer, the Attorney General, any State agency, the US Department of Health and Human Services, or any other federal agency, any information or an act or omission that is a violation of this Article; (2) testifying or preparing to do so, in a proceeding concerning a violation of this Article; or (3) assisting or participating in a proceeding concerning a violation of this Article. Also prohibits discrimination because the medial practitioner disclosed any information that the practitioner reasonably believed was evidence of the listed violations.
Includes a severability clause.
Effective October 1, 2021.