Install
Nurse Overtime and Patient Safety Act of 2026
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for patient protection by limiting the number of mandatory overtime hours a nurse may be required to work in certain providers of services to which payments are made under the Medicare Program.
- Introduced
- Committee
- Passed House
- Passed Senate
- To President
- Became law
Summary
Nurse Overtime and Patient Safety Act of 2026
This bill requires certain providers, as a condition of Medicare participation, to limit mandatory overtime for nurses.
Specifically, the bill prohibits hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, home health agencies, rural health clinics, federally qualified health centers, and other specified providers from requiring nurses to work (1) more than a previously scheduled shift, 48 hours in a workweek, or 12 consecutive hours in a 24-hour period; or (2) during the 10 hours immediately following the 12th hour worked in a shift during a 24-hour period.
Qualifying work hours include time spent in training, on call, and on standby. The bill's provisions do not apply during declared emergencies or disasters, subject to specified conditions, and do not preclude voluntary overtime.
The bill also establishes (1) certain protections for nurses who file complaints against providers, (2) documentation and notice requirements for providers, and (3) potential civil penalties for violations.
Summary by the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.
Actions
- Aug 6, 2026 Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, 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.
- Aug 6, 2026 Introduced in House
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