I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5895 
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to establish certain standards 
and requirements with respect to obtaining informed consent and pro-
viding chaperones for providers of services participating in the Medicare 
program. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 31, 2025 
Mrs. TRAHAN (for herself, Mr. MCGOVERN, and Mrs. DINGELL) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and 
Means, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for 
a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to establish 
certain standards and requirements with respect to ob-
taining informed consent and providing chaperones for 
providers of services participating in the Medicare pro-
gram. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protect Patients from 
Healthcare Abuse Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. ESTABLISHING STANDARDS AND REQUIREMENTS 
WITH RESPECT TO OBTAINING INFORMED 
CONSENT AND PROVIDING CHAPERONES AS 
A MEDICARE CONDITION OF PARTICIPATION. 
Section 1866 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1395cc) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)(1)— 
(A) in subparagraph (X), by striking 
‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(B) in subparagraph (Y), by striking the 
period at the end and inserting ‘‘, and’’; and 
(C) by inserting after subparagraph (Y) 
the following new subparagraph: 
‘‘(Z) beginning January 1, 2026, in the case of 
a provider of services, to comply with the informed 
consent and chaperone requirements described in 
subsection (l).’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(l) INFORMED CONSENT
AND CHAPERONE RE-
QUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of subsection 
(a)(1)(Z), the informed consent and chaperone re-
quirements are, with respect to a provider of serv-
ices— 
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‘‘(A) the written notification requirement 
described in paragraph (2); and 
‘‘(B) the chaperone training and education 
requirement described in paragraph (3). 
‘‘(2) WRITTEN NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.— 
For purposes of paragraph (1), the requirement de-
scribed in this paragraph is, with respect to a pro-
vider of services, that the provider maintains written 
policies and procedures with respect to all adult indi-
viduals receiving medical care by or through such 
provider to provide written information to each such 
individual concerning the right of such individual or 
a surrogate of such individual (to the extent per-
mitted under State law) to make informed decisions 
with respect to the care of such individual, includ-
ing— 
‘‘(A) the right to be informed of the indi-
vidual’s health status; 
‘‘(B) the right to be involved in planning 
for the individual’s care; 
‘‘(C) the right to provide informed consent 
with respect to an item or service before such 
item or service is furnished to such individual; 
and 
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‘‘(D) the right to request the presence of 
a chaperone during a sensitive procedure. 
‘‘(3) CHAPERONE
TRAINING
AND
EDUCATION 
REQUIREMENT.—For purposes of paragraph (1), the 
requirement described in this paragraph is, with re-
spect to a provider of services, that the provider pro-
vides for the education and training of appropriate 
staff (as determined by the provider) with respect to 
the rights of individuals receiving medical care by or 
through such provider described in paragraph (2). 
Such training and education shall include— 
‘‘(A) training in how to perform the func-
tions of a chaperone during a sensitive proce-
dure; 
‘‘(B) education with respect to what con-
stitutes a sensitive procedure; and 
‘‘(C) education with respect to an individ-
ual’s right to provide informed consent to items 
and services being furnished to such individual, 
as described in paragraph (2)(C). 
‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, the fol-
lowing definitions apply: 
‘‘(A) CHAPERONE.—The term ‘chaperone’ 
means, with respect to medical care furnished 
to an individual by or through a provider of 
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services, an appropriate staff member (as deter-
mined by the provider)— 
‘‘(i) who is trained and educated in 
accordance with paragraph (3); and 
‘‘(ii) who is present during a sensitive 
procedure furnished in connection with 
such care in order to— 
‘‘(I) act as a witness to the pro-
cedure; 
‘‘(II) provide a comfortable, safe 
environment consistent with the gen-
erally accepted standard of care for 
such procedure; and 
‘‘(III) report sexual abuse (as de-
fined in section 2242 of title 18, 
United States Code) to an appropriate 
supervisor (as designated by the pro-
vider). 
‘‘(B) INFORMED CONSENT.—The term ‘in-
formed consent’ means, with respect to an item 
or service furnished to an individual by or 
through a provider of services, that the indi-
vidual understands the risks, benefits, and al-
ternatives of such item or service. 
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‘‘(C) SENSITIVE
PROCEDURE.—The term 
‘sensitive procedure’ means, with respect to 
medical care furnished to an individual by or 
through a provider of services, any of the fol-
lowing procedures furnished in connection with 
such care: 
‘‘(i) Any physical examination, sur-
gery, or other procedure involving the indi-
vidual’s genitalia, breasts, perianal region, 
or rectum. 
‘‘(ii) Any other physical examination, 
surgery, or other procedure that the indi-
vidual considers to be sensitive.’’. 
Æ 
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