Bill > HB1117

This bill establishes the "Health Care Provider Free Speech and Innovation Act" to protect licensed healthcare providers' rights to communicate about medical information and treatments without fear of professional repercussions. The legislation recognizes that medical progress can be slow, with new discoveries taking an average of 17 years to become standard practice, and aims to enable healthcare providers to explore and recommend innovative or off-label treatments in good faith. The bill defines key terms like "innovative therapy" (a treatment supported by scientific evidence but not yet standard care) and "good faith" (an honest belief without intent to mislead), and provides that healthcare providers cannot be subjected to disciplinary action, sanctions, or liability for communicating about emerging medical research, experimental treatments, or off-label medication uses, provided the communication is made honestly and is not knowingly false. The bill also allows providers to recommend non-standard therapies if they reasonably believe the treatment may benefit the patient, obtain informed consent, and the therapy is not legally prohibited. While protecting providers' speech rights, the legislation does not compel insurers or employers to cover or fund non-standard treatments and allows aggrieved providers to seek civil remedies if their rights are violated. The act will take effect 60 days after its passage and apply to all actions occurring on or after that date.

Health and Social Services

https://gc.nh.gov/bill_Status/billinfo.aspx?id=1772&inflect=2