Text of ID H 59 (2025)

LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO Sixty-eighth Legislature First Regular Session - 2025 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE BILL NO. 59 BY HEALTH AND WELFARE COMMITTEE AN ACT 1 RELATING TO THE MEDICAL ETHICS DEFENSE ACT; AMENDING TITLE 54, IDAHO CODE, 2 BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW CHAPTER 13, TITLE 54, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE 3 A SHORT TITLE, TO PROVIDE LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND PURPOSE, TO DEFINE 4 TERMS, TO PROVIDE FOR THE RIGHT OF CONSCIENCE OF HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS, 5 TO PROVIDE FOR WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION, TO PROVIDE FOR FREE SPEECH 6 PROTECTION FOR HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS, TO PROVIDE FOR CIVIL REMEDIES, 7 AND TO PROVIDE SEVERABILITY; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. 8 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: 9 SECTION 1. That Title 54, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby amended 10 by the addition thereto of a NEW CHAPTER, to be known and designated as Chap- 11 ter 13, Title 54, Idaho Code, and to read as follows: 12 CHAPTER 13 13 MEDICAL ETHICS DEFENSE ACT 14 54-1301. SHORT TITLE. This act shall be known and may be cited as the 15 "Medical Ethics Defense Act." 16 54-1302. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. (1) The legislature finds 17 that the right of conscience is a fundamental and inalienable right. It was 18 central to the founding of the United States, has been deeply rooted in the 19 nation's history and tradition for centuries, and has been central to the 20 practice of medicine, through the Hippocratic oath, for millennia. 21 (2) Despite its preeminent importance, however, threats to the right 22 of conscience of health care professionals, health care institutions, and 23 health care payers have become increasingly common and severe in recent 24 years. The swift pace of scientific advancement and the expansion of medical 25 capabilities, along with the creation of new rights for patients to access 26 certain procedures and the mistaken notion that health care professionals, 27 health care institutions, and health care payers are mere public utilities, 28 promise to make the current crisis worse, unless something is done to secure 29 the right of conscience. 30 (3) With this purpose in mind, the legislature declares that it is the 31 public policy of the state of Idaho to protect the right of conscience for 32 health care professionals, health care institutions, and health care pay- 33 ers. 34 (4) As the right of conscience is fundamental, no health care profes- 35 sional, health care institution, or health care payer should be required to 36 participate in or pay for any medical procedure, treatment, or service, or 37 prescribe or pay for any medication, to which he objects on the basis of con- 38 science, whether such conscience is informed by religious, moral, or ethical 39 beliefs or principles. 40 2 (5) It is the purpose of this chapter to protect health care profes- 1 sionals, health care institutions, and health care payers from discrimina- 2 tion, punishment, and retaliation as a result of any instance of conscien- 3 tious medical objection. 4 54-1303. DEFINITIONS. For the purpose of this chapter: 5 (1) "Conscience" means the ethical, moral, or religious beliefs or 6 principles held by any health care provider. Conscience with respect to in- 7 stitutional entities or corporate bodies, as opposed to individual persons, 8 is determined by reference to that entity's or body's governing documents, 9 including but not limited to any published ethical, moral, or religious 10 guidelines or directives, mission statements, constitutions, articles of 11 incorporation, bylaws, policies, or regulations. 12 (2) "Discrimination" or "discriminated against" means any adverse 13 action taken against, or any threat of adverse action communicated to, any 14 health care provider as a result of exercising rights pursuant to sections 15 54-1304 and 54-1305, Idaho Code. Discrimination includes but is not limited 16 to any penalty or disciplinary or retaliatory action, whether executed or 17 threatened. Discrimination does not include the negotiation or purchase 18 of, or the refusal to use or purchase, insurance or medical procedures, 19 treatments, or services by an individual or nongovernmental entity, nor does 20 it include good faith efforts to accommodate conscientious objections of a 21 health care provider. 22 (3) "Essential functions" means the fundamental job duties of an em- 23 ployment position. A function can be essential if, among other things, the 24 position exists specifically to perform that function, there are a limited 25 number of other employees who could perform the function, or the function is 26 specialized and the individual is hired based on his ability to perform the 27 function. The term does not include the marginal functions of a position. 28 (4) "Health care institution" means any organization, corporation, 29 partnership, association, agency, network, sole proprietorship, joint 30 venture, or other entity that provides medical procedures, treatments, or 31 services. 32 (5) "Health care payer" means any employer, health plan, health mainte- 33 nance organization, insurance company, or management services organization 34 or any other entity that pays for any medical procedure, treatment, or ser- 35 vice provided to any patient or client, including to contract for, arrange 36 for payment of, reimburse, or remunerate, whether payment is made in whole or 37 in part. 38 (6) "Health care professional" means any person who is authorized to 39 participate in any way in any medical procedure, treatment, or service. This 40 includes but is not limited to: 41 (a) Doctors; 42 (b) Nurses; 43 (c) Clinical nurse specialists; 44 (d) Nurse aides; 45 (e) Physician assistants; 46 (f) Medical assistants; 47 (g) Allied health professionals; 48 (h) Employees of a hospital, clinic, nursing home, or pharmacy; 49 3 (i) Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians; 1 (j) Faculty and students of a medical school, nursing school, or school 2 of psychology or counseling; 3 (k) Medical researchers and laboratory technicians; 4 (l) Psychologists, psychiatrists, and counselors; and 5 (m) Social workers. 6 (7) "Health care provider" means a health care professional, health 7 care institution, or health care payer. 8 (8) "Medical procedure, treatment, or service" means medical research 9 or health care provided to any patient or client at any time over the course 10 of treatment. This includes but is not limited to testing, diagnosis, 11 record-making, referral, prescribing, dispensing, or administering any 12 drug, medication, or device, therapy or counseling, and preparation or ar- 13 rangement for a surgical procedure. 14 (9) "Participate" means to provide, perform, assist with, facilitate, 15 refer for, counsel for, advise to pursue, admit for the purposes of provid- 16 ing, or take part in any way in providing any medical procedure, treatment, 17 or service. 18 54-1304. RIGHT OF CONSCIENCE OF HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS. (1) Health care 19 providers shall have the right of conscience and, pursuant to this right, 20 shall not be required to participate in or pay for a medical procedure, 21 treatment, or service that violates such health care provider's conscience. 22 (2) The exercise of the right of conscience is limited to conscience- 23 based objections to a particular medical procedure, treatment, or service. 24 This section may not be construed to waive or modify any duty a health care 25 provider may have to provide or pay for medical procedures, treatments, or 26 services that do not violate the provider's conscience. 27 (3) A health care professional shall communicate to the health care 28 professional's employer a conscience-based objection when it occurs or as 29 soon as reasonably possible to allow an employer to make necessary staffing 30 adjustments without delaying the provision of health care services. Nothing 31 in this chapter shall prevent an employer from requiring an employee to dis- 32 close the employee's conscience-based objections at the time of hiring, but 33 such disclosure shall not limit the rights protected by this chapter. 34 (4) Conscience-based objections shall be provided in writing by an em- 35 ployee if requested by the employer. 36 (5) A health care payer shall not decline payment for a medical proce- 37 dure, treatment, or service that it is contractually obligated to pay for un- 38 der the terms of its contract with an insured party. 39 (6) No health care provider shall be discriminated against in any man- 40 ner as a result of exercising the right of conscience pursuant to subsection 41 (1) of this section. 42 (7) No health care provider shall be civilly, criminally, or adminis- 43 tratively liable for exercising the right of conscience described in subsec- 44 tion (1) of this section, and no health care institution shall be civilly, 45 criminally, or administratively liable for the exercise of the right of con- 46 science described in subsection (1) of this section by a health care profes- 47 sional employed, contracted, or granted admitting privileges by the health 48 care institution. 49 4 (8) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to impede the right of a 1 religious health care provider to make employment, staffing, contracting, 2 administrative, and admitting privilege decisions consistent with such 3 health care provider's religious beliefs if such health care provider holds 4 itself out to the public as religious and has internal operating policies or 5 procedures that implement its religious purpose or mission. 6 (9) To the extent that this chapter provides broader rights of con- 7 science than that provided by section 18-611, Idaho Code, this chapter 8 controls over section 18-611, Idaho Code. To the extent that this chapter 9 is not enforceable with respect to any rights of conscience protected by 10 section 18-611, Idaho Code, then section 18-611, Idaho Code, shall control. 11 (10) Nothing in this chapter shall affect the rights of conscience pro- 12 vided for in section 18-612, Idaho Code, to the extent that those rights are 13 broader in scope than those provided for in this chapter. 14 (11) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to override the require- 15 ment to provide emergency medical treatment to all patients as set forth in 16 42 U.S.C. 1395dd. 17 (12) The protections in this chapter shall not apply if an employee is 18 unable to perform any essential function, the employer cannot transfer the 19 employee to a suitable alternative position for which the employee is quali- 20 fied, and the employer is otherwise unable to accommodate the employee with- 21 out imposing an undue hardship on the employer. 22 54-1305. WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION. (1) No health care provider shall 23 be discriminated against in any manner because the health care provider: 24 (a) Provided, caused to be provided, or is about to provide or cause to 25 be provided information relating to any act or omission the health care 26 provider reasonably believes to be a violation of any provision of this 27 chapter to a health care professional's employer, the attorney general 28 of Idaho, any state agency charged with protecting health care rights of 29 conscience, the United States department of health and human services 30 office of civil rights, or any other federal agency charged with pro- 31 tecting health care rights of conscience; or 32 (b) Testified, assisted, or participated, or is about to testify, as- 33 sist, or participate in a proceeding concerning such violation. 34 (2) Unless the disclosure is specifically prohibited by law, no health 35 care provider shall be discriminated against in any manner because the 36 health care provider disclosed any information that the health care provider 37 reasonably believes evinces: 38 (a) Any violation of any law, rule, or regulation; 39 (b) Any violation of any ethical guidelines for the provision of any 40 medical procedure or service; or 41 (c) Gross mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, 42 practices, or methods of treatment that may put patient health at risk, 43 or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety. 44 (3) Subsection (2) of this section shall not apply when the disclosure 45 concerns the lawful exercise of discretionary decision-making authority 46 unless the health care provider reasonably believes that the disclosure 47 evinces a violation or misconduct listed in subsection (2) of this section. 48 5 54-1306. FREE SPEECH PROTECTION FOR HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS. (1) The de- 1 partment of health and welfare, the state board of medicine, or any other 2 department or board regulating the practice of a medical procedure, treat- 3 ment, or service in the state may not reprimand or sanction a health care 4 provider or deny or revoke or threaten to deny or revoke a license, certi- 5 fication, or registration of a health care provider for engaging in speech, 6 expression, or association that is protected from government interference 7 by the first amendment to the United States constitution, unless the depart- 8 ment or board demonstrates by clear and convincing evidence that the health 9 care provider's speech, expression, or association was the direct cause of 10 physical harm to a person with whom the health care provider had a practi- 11 tioner-patient relationship within the three (3) years immediately preced- 12 ing the incident of physical harm. 13 (2) The department of health and welfare, the state board of medicine, 14 or any other department or board regulating the practice of a medical proce- 15 dure, treatment, or service in the state shall not contract with, nor shall 16 it recognize, approve, or require an individual to obtain certifications or 17 credentials issued or approved by, a specialty board or other recognizing 18 agency that revokes the certification of, or refuses to issue certification 19 to, an individual because the individual has engaged in speech, expression, 20 or association that is protected from government interference by the first 21 amendment to the United States constitution, provided such individual was 22 not providing medical advice or treatment to a specific patient. 23 (3) The department of health and welfare, the state board of medicine, 24 or any other department or board regulating the practice of a medical proce- 25 dure, treatment, or service in the state shall provide a health care provider 26 with any complaints it has received that are based on speech, expression, 27 or association that is protected from government interference by the first 28 amendment to the United States constitution and may result in the revoca- 29 tion of the health care provider's license, certification, or registration, 30 within twenty-one (21) days after receipt of the complaint. The department 31 or board shall pay the health care provider an administrative penalty of 32 five hundred dollars ($500) for each day the complaint is not provided to the 33 health care provider after the specified twenty-one (21) days. 34 54-1307. CIVIL REMEDIES. (1) A cause of action for damages or injunc- 35 tive relief, or both, may be brought by any health care provider for any vi- 36 olation of any provision of this chapter. Any additional burden or expense 37 on another health care professional, health care institution, or health care 38 payer arising from the exercise of the right of conscience shall not be a de- 39 fense to any violation of this chapter. However, no cause of action may be 40 brought against an individual who declines to use or purchase a medical pro- 41 cedure or services from a specific health care professional, health care in- 42 stitution, or health care payer for exercising the rights granted in sec- 43 tions 54-1304(1), 54-1305, and 54-1306, Idaho Code. 44 (2) Any party aggrieved by any violation of this chapter may commence a 45 civil action and shall be entitled, upon the finding of a violation, to: 46 (a) Injunctive relief, when appropriate, including but not limited to 47 reinstatement of a health care professional's previous position, rein- 48 6 statement of board certification, and relicensure of a health care in- 1 stitution or health care payer; 2 (b) Actual damages for injuries suffered; and 3 (c) Reasonable costs and attorney's fees. 4 (3) Such damages shall be cumulative and in no way limited by any other 5 remedies that may be available under any other federal, state, or municipal 6 law. 7 54-1308. SEVERABILITY. The provisions of this chapter are hereby de- 8 clared to be severable and if any provision of this chapter or the applica- 9 tion of such provision to any person or circumstance is declared invalid for 10 any reason, such declaration shall not affect the validity of the remaining 11 portions of this chapter. 12 SECTION 2. An emergency existing therefor, which emergency is hereby 13 declared to exist, this act shall be in full force and effect on and after its 14 passage and approval. 15

LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO Sixty-eighth Legislature First Regular Session - 2025 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE BILL NO. 59, As Amended in the Senate BY HEALTH AND WELFARE COMMITTEE AN ACT 1 RELATING TO THE MEDICAL ETHICS DEFENSE ACT; AMENDING TITLE 54, IDAHO CODE, 2 BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW CHAPTER 13, TITLE 54, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE 3 A SHORT TITLE, TO PROVIDE LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND PURPOSE, TO DEFINE 4 TERMS, TO PROVIDE FOR THE RIGHT OF CONSCIENCE OF HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS, 5 TO PROVIDE FOR WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION, TO PROVIDE FOR FREE SPEECH 6 PROTECTION FOR HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS, TO PROVIDE FOR CIVIL REMEDIES, 7 AND TO PROVIDE SEVERABILITY; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. 8 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: 9 SECTION 1. That Title 54, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby amended 10 by the addition thereto of a NEW CHAPTER, to be known and designated as Chap- 11 ter 13, Title 54, Idaho Code, and to read as follows: 12 CHAPTER 13 13 MEDICAL ETHICS DEFENSE ACT 14 54-1301. SHORT TITLE. This act shall be known and may be cited as the 15 "Medical Ethics Defense Act." 16 54-1302. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. (1) The legislature finds 17 that the right of conscience is a fundamental and inalienable right. It was 18 central to the founding of the United States, has been deeply rooted in the 19 nation's history and tradition for centuries, and has been central to the 20 practice of medicine, through the Hippocratic oath, for millennia. 21 (2) Despite its preeminent importance, however, threats to the right 22 of conscience of health care professionals, health care institutions, and 23 health care payers have become increasingly common and severe in recent 24 years. The swift pace of scientific advancement and the expansion of medical 25 capabilities, along with the creation of new rights for patients to access 26 certain procedures and the mistaken notion that health care professionals, 27 health care institutions, and health care payers are mere public utilities, 28 promise to make the current crisis worse, unless something is done to secure 29 the right of conscience. 30 (3) With this purpose in mind, the legislature declares that it is the 31 public policy of the state of Idaho to protect the right of conscience for 32 health care professionals, health care institutions, and health care pay- 33 ers. 34 (4) As the right of conscience is fundamental, no health care profes- 35 sional, health care institution, or health care payer should be required to 36 participate in or pay for any medical procedure, treatment, or service, or 37 prescribe or pay for any medication, to which he objects on the basis of con- 38 science, whether such conscience is informed by religious, moral, or ethical 39 beliefs or principles. 40 2 (5) It is the purpose of this chapter to protect health care profes- 1 sionals, health care institutions, and health care payers from discrimina- 2 tion, punishment, and retaliation as a result of any instance of conscien- 3 tious medical objection. 4 54-1303. DEFINITIONS. For the purpose of this chapter: 5 (1) "Conscience" means the ethical, moral, or religious beliefs or 6 principles sincerely held by any health care provider. Conscience with 7 respect to institutional entities or corporate bodies, as opposed to in- 8 dividual persons, is determined by reference to that entity's or body's 9 governing documents, including but not limited to any published ethical, 10 moral, or religious guidelines or directives, mission statements, constitu- 11 tions, articles of incorporation, bylaws, policies, or regulations. 12 (2) "Discrimination" or "discriminated against" means any adverse 13 action taken against, or any threat of adverse action communicated to, any 14 health care provider as a result of exercising rights pursuant to sections 15 54-1304 and 54-1305, Idaho Code. Discrimination includes but is not limited 16 to any penalty or disciplinary or retaliatory action, whether executed or 17 threatened. Discrimination does not include the negotiation or purchase of, 18 or the refusal to use or purchase, insurance or medical procedures, treat- 19 ments, or services by an individual or nongovernmental entity, nor does it 20 include good faith efforts to reasonably accommodate conscientious objec- 21 tions of a health care provider. 22 (3) "Essential functions" means the fundamental job duties of an em- 23 ployment position. A function can be essential if, among other things, the 24 position exists specifically to perform that function, there are a limited 25 number of other employees who could perform the function, or the function is 26 specialized and the individual is hired based on his ability to perform the 27 function. The term does not include the marginal functions of a position. 28 (4) "Health care institution" means any organization, corporation, 29 partnership, association, agency, network, sole proprietorship, joint 30 venture, or other entity that provides medical procedures, treatments, or 31 services. 32 (5) "Health care payer" means any employer, health plan, health mainte- 33 nance organization, insurance company, or management services organization 34 or any other entity that pays for any medical procedure, treatment, or ser- 35 vice provided to any patient or client, including to contract for, arrange 36 for payment of, reimburse, or remunerate, whether payment is made in whole or 37 in part. 38 (6) "Health care professional" means any person who is authorized to 39 participate in any way in any medical procedure, treatment, or service. This 40 includes but is not limited to: 41 (a) Doctors; 42 (b) Nurses; 43 (c) Clinical nurse specialists; 44 (d) Nurse aides; 45 (e) Physician assistants; 46 (f) Medical assistants; 47 (g) Allied health professionals; 48 (h) Employees of a hospital, clinic, nursing home, or pharmacy; 49 3 (i) Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians; 1 (j) Faculty and students of a medical school, nursing school, or school 2 of psychology or counseling; 3 (k) Medical researchers and laboratory technicians; 4 (l) Psychologists, psychiatrists, and counselors; and 5 (m) Social workers. 6 (7) "Health care provider" means a health care professional, health 7 care institution, or health care payer. 8 (8) "Medical procedure, treatment, or service" means medical research 9 or health care provided to any patient or client at any time over the course 10 of treatment. This includes but is not limited to testing, diagnosis, 11 record-making, referral, prescribing, dispensing, or administering any 12 drug, medication, or device, therapy or counseling, and preparation or ar- 13 rangement for a surgical procedure. 14 (9) "Participate" means to provide, perform, assist with, facilitate, 15 refer for, counsel for, advise to pursue, admit for the purposes of provid- 16 ing, or take part in any way in providing any medical procedure, treatment, 17 or service. 18 54-1304. RIGHT OF CONSCIENCE OF HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS. (1) Health care 19 providers shall have the right of conscience and, pursuant to this right, 20 shall not be required to participate in or pay for a medical procedure, 21 treatment, or service that violates such health care provider's conscience. 22 (2) The exercise of the right of conscience is limited to conscience- 23 based objections to a particular medical procedure, treatment, or service. 24 This section may not be construed to waive or modify any duty a health care 25 provider may have to provide or pay for medical procedures, treatments, or 26 services that do not violate the provider's conscience. 27 (3) A health care professional shall communicate to the health care 28 professional's employer a conscience-based objection when it occurs or as 29 soon as reasonably possible to allow an employer to make necessary staffing 30 adjustments without delaying the provision of health care services. Nothing 31 in this chapter shall prevent an employer from requiring an employee to dis- 32 close the employee's conscience-based objections at the time of hiring, but 33 such disclosure shall not limit the rights protected by this chapter. 34 (4) Conscience-based objections shall be provided in writing by an em- 35 ployee if requested by the employer. 36 (5) A health care payer shall not decline payment for a medical proce- 37 dure, treatment, or service that it is contractually obligated to pay for un- 38 der the terms of its contract with an insured party. 39 (6) No health care provider shall be discriminated against in any man- 40 ner as a result of exercising the right of conscience pursuant to subsection 41 (1) of this section. 42 (7) No health care provider shall be civilly, criminally, or adminis- 43 tratively liable for exercising the right of conscience described in subsec- 44 tion (1) of this section, and no health care institution shall be civilly, 45 criminally, or administratively liable for the exercise of the right of con- 46 science described in subsection (1) of this section by a health care profes- 47 sional employed, contracted, or granted admitting privileges by the health 48 care institution. 49 4 (8) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to impede the right of a 1 religious health care provider to make employment, staffing, contracting, 2 administrative, and admitting privilege decisions consistent with such 3 health care provider's religious beliefs if such health care provider holds 4 itself out to the public as religious and has internal operating policies or 5 procedures that implement its religious purpose or mission. 6 (9) To the extent that this chapter provides broader rights of con- 7 science than that provided by section 18-611, Idaho Code, this chapter 8 controls over section 18-611, Idaho Code. To the extent that this chapter 9 is not enforceable with respect to any rights of conscience protected by 10 section 18-611, Idaho Code, then section 18-611, Idaho Code, shall control. 11 (10) Nothing in this chapter shall affect the rights of conscience pro- 12 vided for in section 18-612, Idaho Code, to the extent that those rights are 13 broader in scope than those provided for in this chapter. 14 (11) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to override the require- 15 ment to provide emergency medical treatment to all patients as set forth in 16 42 U.S.C. 1395dd. 17 (12) The protections in this chapter shall not apply if an employee is 18 unable to perform any essential function, the employer cannot transfer the 19 employee to a suitable alternative position for which the employee is quali- 20 fied, and the employer is otherwise unable to reasonably accommodate the em- 21 ployee without imposing an undue hardship on the employer. 22 (13) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as providing a health 23 care provider with civil immunity for the failure to comply with the applica- 24 ble community standard of care as described in section 6-1012, Idaho Code. 25 54-1305. WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION. (1) No health care provider shall 26 be discriminated against in any manner because the health care provider: 27 (a) Provided, caused to be provided, or is about to provide or cause to 28 be provided information relating to any act or omission the health care 29 provider reasonably believes to be a violation of any provision of this 30 chapter to a health care professional's employer, the attorney general 31 of Idaho, any state agency charged with protecting health care rights of 32 conscience, the United States department of health and human services 33 office of civil rights, or any other federal agency charged with pro- 34 tecting health care rights of conscience; or 35 (b) Testified, assisted, or participated, or is about to testify, as- 36 sist, or participate in a proceeding concerning such violation. 37 (2) Unless the disclosure is specifically prohibited by law, no health 38 care provider shall be discriminated against in any manner because the 39 health care provider disclosed any information that the health care provider 40 reasonably believes evinces: 41 (a) Any violation of any law, rule, or regulation; 42 (b) Any violation of any ethical guidelines for the provision of any 43 medical procedure or service; or 44 (c) Gross mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, 45 practices, or methods of treatment that may put patient health at risk, 46 or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety. 47 (3) Subsection (2) of this section shall not apply when the disclosure 48 concerns the lawful exercise of discretionary decision-making authority 49 5 unless the health care provider reasonably believes that the disclosure 1 evinces a violation or misconduct listed in subsection (2) of this section. 2 54-1306. FREE SPEECH PROTECTION FOR HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS. (1) The de- 3 partment of health and welfare, the state board of medicine, or any other 4 department or board regulating the practice of a medical procedure, treat- 5 ment, or service in the state may not reprimand or sanction a health care 6 provider or deny or revoke or threaten to deny or revoke a license, certi- 7 fication, or registration of a health care provider for engaging in speech, 8 expression, or association that is protected from government interference 9 by the first amendment to the United States constitution, unless the depart- 10 ment or board demonstrates by clear and convincing evidence that the health 11 care provider's speech, expression, or association was the direct cause of 12 physical harm to a person with whom the health care provider had a practi- 13 tioner-patient relationship within the three (3) years immediately preced- 14 ing the incident of physical harm. 15 (2) The department of health and welfare, the state board of medicine, 16 or any other department or board regulating the practice of a medical proce- 17 dure, treatment, or service in the state shall not contract with, nor shall 18 it recognize, approve, or require an individual to obtain certifications or 19 credentials issued or approved by, a specialty board or other recognizing 20 agency that revokes the certification of, or refuses to issue certification 21 to, an individual because the individual has engaged in speech, expression, 22 or association that is protected from government interference by the first 23 amendment to the United States constitution, provided such individual was 24 not providing medical advice or treatment to a specific patient. 25 (3) The department of health and welfare, the state board of medicine, 26 or any other department or board regulating the practice of a medical proce- 27 dure, treatment, or service in the state shall provide a health care provider 28 with any complaints it has received that are based on speech, expression, 29 or association that is protected from government interference by the first 30 amendment to the United States constitution and may result in the revoca- 31 tion of the health care provider's license, certification, or registration, 32 within twenty-one (21) days after receipt of the complaint. The department 33 or board shall pay the health care provider an administrative penalty of 34 five hundred dollars ($500) for each day the complaint is not provided to the 35 health care provider after the specified twenty-one (21) days. 36 54-1307. CIVIL REMEDIES. (1) A cause of action for damages or injunc- 37 tive relief, or both, may be brought by any health care provider for any vi- 38 olation of any provision of this chapter. Any additional burden or expense 39 on another health care professional, health care institution, or health care 40 payer arising from the exercise of the right of conscience shall not be a de- 41 fense to any violation of this chapter. However, no cause of action may be 42 brought against an individual who declines to use or purchase a medical pro- 43 cedure or services from a specific health care professional, health care in- 44 stitution, or health care payer for exercising the rights granted in sec- 45 tions 54-1304(1), 54-1305, and 54-1306, Idaho Code. 46 (2) Any party aggrieved by any violation of this chapter may commence a 47 civil action and shall be entitled, upon the finding of a violation, to: 48 6 (a) Injunctive relief, when appropriate, including but not limited to 1 reinstatement of a health care professional's previous position, rein- 2 statement of board certification, and relicensure of a health care in- 3 stitution or health care payer; 4 (b) Actual damages for injuries suffered; and 5 (c) Reasonable costs and attorney's fees. 6 (3) Such damages shall be cumulative and in no way limited by any other 7 remedies that may be available under any other federal, state, or municipal 8 law. 9 54-1308. SEVERABILITY. The provisions of this chapter are hereby de- 10 clared to be severable and if any provision of this chapter or the applica- 11 tion of such provision to any person or circumstance is declared invalid for 12 any reason, such declaration shall not affect the validity of the remaining 13 portions of this chapter. 14 SECTION 2. An emergency existing therefor, which emergency is hereby 15 declared to exist, this act shall be in full force and effect on and after its 16 passage and approval. 17