H.R. 5895: Protect Patients from Healthcare Abuse Act
Sponsor
Lori Trahan
Democrat · MA-3
Bill Progress
Latest Action · Oct 31, 2025
Referred to 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 committee concerned. for review
You'd get the right to a witness during intimate exams
Why it matters
Get an exam involving your genitals, breasts, or rectum through a Medicare provider, and H.R. 5895 would give you two things in writing: a clear explanation of your right to consent, and the right to ask for a trained chaperone in the room. Every Medicare-participating provider would have to build those policies into how they operate.
H.R. 5895, the Protect Patients from Healthcare Abuse Act, ties two new patient protections to a provider's ability to participate in Medicare. Miss them, and a provider falls out of compliance with the program's participation rules.
First, written notice. Every Medicare provider would have to keep written policies that spell out your rights to each adult patient: the right to know your health status, to help plan your care, to give informed consent before any item or service is furnished, and to request a chaperone during a sensitive procedure. The bill defines informed consent plainly — you understand the risks, benefits, and alternatives. When state law allows, a surrogate can receive that notice on your behalf.
Second, chaperones. A sensitive procedure covers any exam, surgery, or procedure involving the genitalia, breasts, perianal region, or rectum — plus anything else you personally consider sensitive. A chaperone has to be a trained staff member whose job is to witness the procedure, keep the environment safe, and report sexual abuse to a designated supervisor.
Providers would also have to train the staff who fill that role on three things: how to act as a chaperone, what counts as a sensitive procedure, and what informed consent means.
H.R. 5895 Bill Summary
What H.R. 5895 actually does.
Your rights have to be put in writing
Medicare providers would have to maintain written policies that give every adult patient — or a surrogate, when state law allows — written information about their rights: to know their health status, help plan their care, give informed consent before any item or service is furnished, and request a chaperone during a sensitive procedure.
Informed consent gets a plain definition
The bill defines informed consent as the patient understanding the risks, benefits, and alternatives of an item or service before it's furnished. That gives providers a concrete standard to meet rather than a vague one.
You decide what counts as a sensitive exam
A sensitive procedure covers any exam, surgery, or other procedure involving the genitalia, breasts, perianal region, or rectum. It also covers anything else the patient personally considers sensitive — so the definition stretches beyond a fixed anatomical list.
Chaperones become trained witnesses with reporting duties
A chaperone would have to be a trained staff member present during a sensitive procedure to witness it, keep the environment safe and comfortable, and report sexual abuse — using the definition in federal criminal law — to a supervisor the provider designates.
Staff training is required on three topics
Providers would have to train the staff they pick as chaperones on three things: how to perform the chaperone role during a sensitive procedure, what counts as a sensitive procedure, and what a patient's right to informed consent means. The provider decides which staff are appropriate to train.
It's tied to staying in Medicare
The requirements are written as a Medicare condition of participation, beginning January 1, 2026. A provider that doesn't meet them falls out of compliance with the rules that let it keep participating in the program.
Who benefits from H.R. 5895?
Anyone facing an intimate medical exam
If you're getting an exam, surgery, or procedure involving the genitalia, breasts, perianal region, or rectum, you'd have an explicit right to ask for a trained chaperone — and a written heads-up that the right exists before the exam happens.
Adult Medicare patients generally
Every adult patient seen by or through a Medicare provider would get a written explanation of four rights: to know their health status, take part in care planning, give informed consent before any item or service, and request a chaperone for a sensitive procedure.
Patients who rely on a surrogate
When state law allows, a surrogate can receive the written rights notice on the patient's behalf — a help for people who can't manage consent discussions on their own.
Patients worried about being mistreated
The bill builds a formal witness role into sensitive procedures and requires the chaperone to report sexual abuse, using the definition in federal criminal law, to a supervisor the provider designates.
Who is affected by H.R. 5895?
Medicare-participating providers
These providers would have to write new policies, hand out the patient-rights notice, train staff, and meet the requirements as a condition of staying in Medicare. The bill specifies no federal money to cover those compliance costs.
Staff chosen to serve as chaperones
Staff members the provider picks would need training on the three required topics and could be assigned to attend sensitive procedures as witnesses and safety supports.
Supervisors designated by providers
Whoever a provider names would become the internal point of contact for sexual-abuse reports that chaperones are required to pass along.
HR5895 Legislative Journey
House: Committee Action
Oct 31, 2025
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 committee concerned.
About the Sponsor
Lori Trahan
Democrat, Massachusetts's 3rd congressional district · 7 years in Congress
Committees: Energy and Commerce
View full profile →
Cosponsors (2)
All 2 cosponsors are Democrats. Cosponsors represent 2 states: Massachusetts, Michigan.
Committee Sponsors
Energy and Commerce Committee
1 of 54 committee members cosponsored
Ways and Means Committee
0 of 45 committee members cosponsored
No committee members have cosponsored this bill
42 Democrats across these committees haven't cosponsored yet. Mobilize their constituents
H.R. 5895 Quick Facts
- Committee
- Energy and Commerce
- Chamber
- House
- Policy
- Health
- Introduced
- Oct 31, 2025
Referred to 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 committee concerned. for review
Oct 31, 2025
Official Sources
Official bill page with text, actions, sponsors, and status for the Protect Patients from Healthcare Abuse Act.
This is Section 1866 of the Social Security Act on Medicare provider agreements, the exact statute HR5895 would amend to add informed consent and chaperone requirements.
The bill expressly adopts this Title 18 definition of sexual abuse, which chaperones would be required to report to a designated supervisor.
CMS oversees Medicare health and safety standards and provider compliance, making this central to how new participation requirements would likely be administered.
Official CMS page on federal provider participation standards that helps explain the regulatory framework HR5895 would modify.
Official Social Security Administration compilation of the Social Security Act, useful for locating Title XVIII and the statutory Medicare framework affected by the bill.
H.R. 5895 Common Questions
When would the new Medicare consent and chaperone rules start?
The bill writes in a January 1, 2026 start date. But H.R. 5895 is still in committee months past that, so the timeline would need to be updated before the rules could actually take effect.
What rights would Medicare providers have to tell you about in writing?
Four: your right to know your health status, help plan your care, give informed consent before any service, and request a chaperone during a sensitive procedure. H.R. 5895 requires providers to put this in writing for every adult patient.
Can I request a chaperone during a genital or breast exam?
Yes. H.R. 5895 gives adult Medicare patients an explicit right to ask for a trained chaperone during any sensitive procedure, including exams involving the genitalia, breasts, perianal region, or rectum.
What counts as a sensitive procedure under the bill?
Any exam, surgery, or procedure involving the genitalia, breasts, perianal region, or rectum — plus anything else you personally consider sensitive. That last part stretches the definition beyond a fixed anatomical list.
What does informed consent mean under H.R. 5895?
It means you understand the risks, benefits, and alternatives of an item or service before it's furnished. The bill defines it plainly so providers have a concrete standard to meet.
What would a chaperone actually have to do?
A trained staff chaperone would witness the procedure, help keep the environment safe and comfortable, and report sexual abuse — using the definition in federal criminal law — to a supervisor the provider designates.
Does H.R. 5895 require staff training?
Yes. Providers would have to train the staff they pick as chaperones on three things: how to perform the chaperone role, what counts as a sensitive procedure, and what a patient's right to informed consent means.
What if I can't receive the rights notice myself?
When state law allows, the written notice can go to your surrogate instead — a help for patients who can't manage consent discussions on their own.
Based on H.R. 5895 bill text
H.R. 5895 Bill Text
“To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to establish certain standards and requirements with respect to obtaining informed consent and providing chaperones for providers of services participating in the Medicare program.”
Source: U.S. Government Publishing Office
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