PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Mar 25, 1999
Freedom from Restraint Act of 1999 - Amends part D (Miscellaneous) of title XVIII (Medicare) and title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to specify program beneficiaries' rights to freedom from restraint and other abuse while in a psychiatric hospital or other care facility or treatment center. Requires a service provider to report sentinel events (when a program beneficiary under psychiatric care dies unexpectedly or suffers serious injury unrelated to his or her illness or underlying condition) to appropriate agencies or entities with oversight authority.Allows the imposition of restraints: (1) only to ensure physical safety of the individual or others in the provider's care; and (2) only upon the written order of a physician specifying the duration and circumstances under which restraints are to be used (except in emergency circumstances specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services until such an order could reasonably be obtained). Requires the service provider to investigate the sentinel event reported and the appropriate agencies or entities to review and approve the provider's root cause analysis before reporting on the matter to the Secretary for use in the Sentinel Events Database.Directs the Secretary to establish such Database for use on the Internet, with appropriate privacy safeguards for individuals whose treatment is the subject of a report under this Act.Requires additional reporting in certain cases, including: (1) to the Secretary about a provider identified as having a pattern of poor performance; and (2) to the State Attorney General or the appropriate State law enforcement agency in sentinel events involving death. Mandates sanctions for failure to report. Bars disclosure or discovery of a root cause analysis in a civil action.
People & committees
Sen. Lieberman, Joseph I. [D-CT] · D–CT
Legislative record
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Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Feb 10, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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