Text of CT HB 5516 (2026)

LCO No. 2740 1 of 4 General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5516 February Session, 2026 LCO No. 2740 Referred to Committee on PUBLIC HEALTH Introduced by: (PH) AN ACT CONCERNING REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened: Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2026) As used in this section and 1 sections 2 and 3 of this act: 2 (1) "Gender-affirming health care services" means all medical care 3 relating to the treatment of (A) gender dysphoria, as set forth in the most 4 recent edition of the American Psychiatric Association's "Diagnostic and 5 Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders", and (B) gender incongruence, 6 as defined in the most recent revision of the "International Statistical 7 Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems"; 8 (2) "Health care entity" means an entity that supervises, controls, 9 grants privileges to, directs the practice of or directly, or indirectly, 10 restricts the practice of a health care provider; 11 (3) "Health care provider" means a person who (A) provides health 12 care services, (B) is licensed, certified or registered pursuant to title 20 13 of the general statutes, and (C) is employed by or acting on behalf of a 14 health care entity; 15 Raised Bill No. 5516 LCO No. 2740 2 of 4 (4) "Medically accurate and appropriate information and counseling" 16 means information and counseling that is (A) supported by the weight 17 of current scientific evidence, (B) derived from research using accepted 18 scientific methods, (C) consistent with generally recognized scientific 19 theory, (D) published in peer-reviewed journals, as appropriate, and (E) 20 recognized as accurate, complete, objective and in accordance with the 21 accepted standard of care by professional organizations and agencies 22 with expertise in the relevant field; and 23 (5) "Reproductive health care services" means all medical, surgical, 24 counseling or referral services relating to the human reproductive 25 system, including, but not limited to, services relating to sexual health, 26 pregnancy, contraception or the termination of a pregnancy. 27 Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2026) (a) Except as provided in 28 subsection (b) of this section, if a health care provider is acting in good 29 faith, within the health care provider's scope of practice, education, 30 training and experience, including the health care provider's specialty 31 areas of practice and board certification, and within the accepted 32 standard of care, a health care entity shall not limit the health care 33 provider's provision of the following with regard to reproductive health 34 care services and gender-affirming health care services: 35 (1) Comprehensive medically accurate and appropriate information 36 and counseling that conforms to the accepted standard of care to an 37 individual patient regarding that patient's health status, including, but 38 not limited to, diagnosis, prognosis, recommended treatment, treatment 39 alternatives and any potential risks to the patient's health or life; and 40 (2) Comprehensive medically accurate and appropriate information 41 and counseling about available and relevant services and resources in 42 the community and how to access such services and resources to obtain 43 health care of the patient's choosing. 44 (b) Nothing in subsection (a) of this section shall be construed to 45 prohibit a health care entity that employs a health care provider from 46 Raised Bill No. 5516 LCO No. 2740 3 of 4 (1) performing relevant peer review of the health care provider, (2) 47 requiring the health care provider to provide the full range of 48 information to patients about available, legal options for care, as 49 determined by the health care entity, including, but not limited to, 50 vaccinations, or (3) requiring such health care provider to: 51 (A) Comply with preferred provider network or utilization review 52 requirements of any program or entity authorized by state or federal 53 law to provide insurance coverage for health care services to an enrollee, 54 including, but not limited to, the conditions of participation for hospitals 55 developed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; or 56 (B) Meet established health care quality and patient safety guidelines 57 or rules. 58 (c) A health care entity shall not discharge, demote, suspend, 59 discipline or take any other adverse action against a health care provider 60 solely because the health care provider has provided information or 61 counseling as described in subsection (a) of this section. The provisions 62 of this section shall not apply to a health care provider who fails to 63 comply with the instruction of a health care entity to provide patients 64 with the full range of information about available, legal options for care, 65 as determined by the health care entity, including, but not limited to, 66 vaccinations. 67 This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections: Section 1 July 1, 2026 New section Sec. 2 July 1, 2026 New section Statement of Purpose: To prohibit adverse actions against health care providers for providing certain health care services. Raised Bill No. 5516 LCO No. 2740 4 of 4 [Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]