Congress eyes federal penalties for violence against health workers

Thousands of US doctors, nurses, and other hospital workers are attacked—both physically and verbally, threatened, or harassed every year while attempting to treat patients.

Some members of Congress—including a doctor in the US House of Representatives—are looking to crack down on that behavior while also helping hospitals protect staff.

US Reps. Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.) and Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.) reintroduced legislation in April that would create federal legal penalties—from fines up to 20 years’ imprisonment—for individuals who knowingly assault or intimidate hospital employees. (The penalties would exempt behavior tied to mental illness, substance abuse, or disabilities.)

The bipartisan proposal, known as the “Safety from Violence for Healthcare Employees” (SAVE) Act, would also authorize up to $25 million—subject to the appropriations process—in new federal grants annually over 10 years to help hospitals with de-escalation training, coordination with law enforcement, and security systems upgrades. (An earlier version of the bill did not pass last session.)

Bucshon, who served as chief of cardiothoracic surgery at then-St. Mary’s Hospital (now Ascension St. Vincent Evansville) in Indiana, prior to joining Congress in 2011, told Healthcare Brew that the new penalties—similar to those for people who assault airline workers—are needed to curb the rising rates of violence directed at healthcare workers.

“There needs to be more of a deterrent,” he said, arguing that existing state laws fall short.

The renewed legislative push comes amid new data suggesting that healthcare workers—who have long been subject to such behavior—faced increased aggression and violence during the Covid-19 pandemic.

A Press Ganey analysis released in September 2022 found that more than two nurses, on average, were assaulted every hour—or 57 per day—in the second quarter of 2022. Nurses surveyed by National Nurses United in 2022, meanwhile, reported significant increases in workplace violence compared to 2021.

“That’s why we’re doing this [bill],” Bucshon said. “Because it’s very, very prevalent.”

Robyn Begley, the American Hospital Association’s chief nursing officer and American Organization for Nursing Leadership’s CEO, argued that while hospitals “are working overtime to ensure the physical and psychological safety of their workforce,” they can’t do it alone.

“Protecting our caregivers must be a national priority,” Begley said in an April statement. “This bipartisan bill would represent a major step forward in helping us get there.”

Some Capitol Hill critics, however, have voiced concerns about raising the penalties for assaulting healthcare workers to the federal level, Bucshon said.

The bill is still early in the legislative process—it’s been referred to the House Judiciary Committee for review. But backers are hopeful about building support for the measure this session.

“I really don’t see any politics in this at all. I see common sense and people wanting to make sure that healthcare providers are adequately protected,” Bucshon said. “Most members of Congress—on both sides of the aisle—are hearing from their hospital systems and their clinics about this issue. That’s why you’re going to see such broad support.”