Text of WY HB 115 (2025)

2025 STATE OF WYOMING 25LSO-0340 1 HB0115 HOUSE BILL NO. HB0115 Medical Ethics Defense Act. Sponsored by: Representative(s) Ottman, Schmid, Singh and Styvar and Senator(s) Hutchings, Ide, Pearson and Steinmetz A BILL for 1 AN ACT relating to public health and safety; allowing 2 health care providers, health care institutions and health 3 care payers the right to refuse to participate in or pay 4 for health care services as specified; authorizing 5 religious-based health care organizations to make decisions 6 consistent with religious beliefs; prohibiting 7 discrimination for making health care decisions based on 8 conscience; prohibiting adverse licensing actions based on 9 protected expressive activity; specifying liability and 10 damages for notice requirements; providing immunity; 11 providing definitions; specifying applicability; requiring 12 rulemaking; and providing for effective dates. 13 14 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming: 15 2025 STATE OF WYOMING 25LSO-0340 2 HB0115 1 Section 1. W.S. 35-34-101 through 35-34-106 are 2 created to read: 3 4 CHAPTER 34 5 MEDICAL ETHICS DEFENSE ACT 6 7 35-34-101. Short title. 8 9 This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the 10 "Medical Ethics Defense Act." 11 12 35-34-102. Definitions. 13 14 (a) As used in this act: 15 16 (i) "Conscience" means the ethical, moral or 17 religious beliefs or principles held by any health care 18 provider, health care institution or health care payer. For 19 health care institutions and health care payers, conscience 20 shall be determined by reference to the health care 21 institution's or health care payer's governing documents, 22 including any published ethical, moral or religious 23 guidelines or directives, mission statements, 2025 STATE OF WYOMING 25LSO-0340 3 HB0115 1 constitutions, articles of incorporation, bylaws, policies 2 or regulations; 3 4 (ii) "Discrimination" means an adverse action 5 against or the communication of a threat of adverse action 6 to any health care provider, health care institution or 7 health care payer as a result of a decision by the health 8 care provider, health care institution or health care payer 9 to decline to participate in or pay for any health care 10 service on the basis of the conscience of the health care 11 provider, health care institution or health care payer. 12 "Discrimination" shall not include: 13 14 (A) Declining to use, the refusal to use or 15 the purchase of health care services from a specific health 16 care provider, health care institution or health care payer 17 if that health care provider, health care institution or 18 health care payer exercises the right to refuse to 19 participate in or pay for health care services based on its 20 conscience; 21 2025 STATE OF WYOMING 25LSO-0340 4 HB0115 1 (B) Good faith efforts to accommodate 2 conscientious objections of a health care provider, health 3 care institution or health care payer. 4 5 (iii) "Health care institution" means as defined 6 by W.S. 35-22-402(a)(x); 7 8 (iv) "Health care payer" means any employer, 9 health plan, health maintenance organization, insurance 10 company, management services corporation or any other 11 entity that pays for or arranges for the payment of any 12 health care service provided to any person, whether the 13 payment is made in whole or in part; 14 15 (v) "Health care provider" means any person who 16 may be or is asked to participate in any health care 17 service, including doctors, nurse practitioners, physician 18 assistants, nurses, nurse aides, allied health 19 professionals, medical assistants, hospital employees, 20 clinic employees, nursing home employees, pharmacists, 21 pharmacy technicians, pharmacy employees, medical school 22 faculty and students, nursing school faculty and students, 23 psychology and counseling faculty and students, medical 2025 STATE OF WYOMING 25LSO-0340 5 HB0115 1 researchers, laboratory technicians, psychologists, 2 psychiatrists, counselors, mental health professionals, 3 social workers or any other person who facilitates or 4 participates in a health care service; 5 6 (vi) "Health care service" means medical care 7 provided to any person at any time over the course of 8 treatment, including testing, diagnosis, referral, the 9 prescribing, dispensing or administering of any drug, 10 medication or device, psychological therapy or counseling, 11 research, prognosis, therapy, record making or record 12 keeping, notes relating to treatment, the preparation for 13 or performance of a surgery or procedure or any other 14 medical care or service provided by any health care 15 provider; 16 17 (vii) "This act" means W.S. 35-34-101 through 18 35-34-106. 19 20 35-34-103. Rights of conscience for health care 21 providers, health care institutions and health care payers. 22 2025 STATE OF WYOMING 25LSO-0340 6 HB0115 1 (a) Each health care provider, health care 2 institution and health care payer shall have the right to 3 refuse to participate in or pay for any health care service 4 that violates the health care provider's, health care 5 institution's or health care payer's conscience. The right 6 of conscience provided under this subsection shall: 7 8 (i) Be limited to a specific health care 9 service; 10 11 (ii) Not be construed to waive or modify any 12 duty a health care provider, health care institution or 13 health care payer has to provide or pay for health care 14 services that do not violate the health care provider's, 15 health care institution's or health care payer's 16 conscience; 17 18 (iii) Not be construed to waive or modify any 19 duty of a health care provider or health care institution 20 to provide other health care services or provide emergency 21 medical treatment under 42 U.S.C. § 1395dd. 22 2025 STATE OF WYOMING 25LSO-0340 7 HB0115 1 (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this act, 2 a religious health care provider, health care institution 3 or health care payer that holds itself out to the public as 4 religious, states in its governing documents that it has a 5 religious purpose or mission and has internal operating 6 policies and procedures that implement its religious 7 beliefs shall have the right to make employment, staffing, 8 contracting and admitting privilege decisions consistent 9 with its religious beliefs. 10 11 (c) No health care provider shall be scheduled for, 12 assigned or requested to directly or indirectly perform, 13 facilitate, refer for or participate in any abortion unless 14 the health care provider first affirmatively consents in 15 writing to perform, facilitate, refer for or participate in 16 the abortion. 17 18 (d) Each health care institution shall adopt internal 19 policies, programs, plans or procedures for each health 20 care provider employed, contracted or granted admitting 21 privileges by the health care institution for the health 22 care provider to exercise the right to refuse to 23 participate in a health care service based on the health 2025 STATE OF WYOMING 25LSO-0340 8 HB0115 1 care provider's conscience as provided by subsection (a) of 2 this section. 3 4 (e) Each health care payer shall adopt internal 5 policies, programs, plans or procedures for: 6 7 (i) How the health care payer may exercise its 8 right to refuse to pay for a health care service based on 9 its conscience as provided by subsection (a) of this 10 section; 11 12 (ii) The resolution of conflicts arising between 13 a health care payer exercising the right to refuse to pay 14 for a health care service based on its conscience as 15 provided by subsection (a) of this section and a health 16 care institution or health care provider who provided the 17 health care service to the patient. 18 19 (f) A health care payer shall file and update the 20 conscience policies established under subsection (e) of 21 this section not less than annually with the state 22 insurance department by including a comprehensive list, by 23 billing code, of any products, services and procedures that 2025 STATE OF WYOMING 25LSO-0340 9 HB0115 1 the health care payer will not pay or make payment for 2 based on its conscience. The annual filing shall be 3 submitted annually to each beneficiary of the health care 4 payer. 5 6 (g) A health care payer shall not refuse or reduce 7 payments based on its conscience to a health care provider, 8 health care institution or a beneficiary for any product, 9 service or procedure that is not included in the annual 10 filing required under subsection (f) of this section. 11 12 35-34-104. Participation in health care services; 13 discrimination prohibited. 14 15 (a) No person or entity shall discriminate against 16 any health care provider, health care institution or health 17 care payer for exercising the right to refuse to 18 participate in or pay for health care services based on 19 conscience under this act. 20 21 (b) No person or entity shall discriminate against a 22 health care provider or health care institution for: 23 2025 STATE OF WYOMING 25LSO-0340 10 HB0115 1 (i) Providing the health care provider's 2 employer, the department of health or the attorney general 3 of Wyoming information relating to any violation of or any 4 act or omission that the health care provider or health 5 care institution reasonably believes violates this act; or 6 7 (ii) Testifying, assisting, participating or 8 agreeing to testify, assist or participate in a proceeding 9 concerning a violation of this act. 10 11 (c) Unless the disclosure is specifically prohibited 12 by law, no health care provider shall be subject to 13 discrimination for disclosing any information that the 14 health care provider reasonably believes violates: 15 16 (i) Any federal or state law, rule or 17 regulation; 18 19 (ii) Any standard of care or other ethical 20 guidelines for the provision of any health care service; or 21 22 (iii) Gross mismanagement, a gross waste of 23 funds, an abuse of authority, practice or methods of 2025 STATE OF WYOMING 25LSO-0340 11 HB0115 1 treatment that may place a patient's health at risk or a 2 substantial and specific danger to public health or safety. 3 4 (d) The department of health or a board, certifying 5 agency or licensing agency shall not reprimand, sanction or 6 revoke or threaten to revoke a license, certificate, 7 certification or registration of a health care provider for 8 engaging in speech or expressive activity protected by the 9 first amendment to the United States constitution unless 10 the department, board or agency demonstrates beyond a 11 reasonable doubt that the health care provider's speech was 12 the direct cause of physical harm to a person with whom the 13 health care provider had established a health care 14 provider-patient relationship within the immediately 15 preceding three (3) years before the incident of physical 16 harm. 17 18 (e) Not later than fourteen (14) days after receipt, 19 the department of health or any board, certifying agency or 20 licensing agency, as applicable to the health care 21 provider, shall provide a health care provider with notice 22 of any complaint or action to suspend or revoke the health 23 care provider's license, certificate, certification or 2025 STATE OF WYOMING 25LSO-0340 12 HB0115 1 registration. The department or a board or agency that 2 fails to provide notice under this subsection shall be 3 liable for damages of five hundred dollars ($500.00) for 4 each full or partial week that the notice is not provided 5 to the health care provider. This subsection shall not 6 apply if notice of a complaint or action is required to be 7 provided within a shorter period of time under another 8 provision of law. 9 10 35-34-105. Right of conscience and right of refusal; 11 immunity from liability. 12 13 (a) No health care provider, health care institution 14 or health care payer shall be subject to civil or criminal 15 liability for exercising the right to refuse to participate 16 in or pay for any health care service based on the right of 17 conscience provided in W.S. 35-34-103(a). 18 19 (b) No health care institution shall be subject to 20 civil or criminal liability for a health care provider 21 employed, contracted or granted admitting privileges by the 22 health care institution for the health care provider 23 exercising the provider's right to refuse to participate in 2025 STATE OF WYOMING 25LSO-0340 13 HB0115 1 a health care service based on the right of conscience 2 provided under W.S. 35-34-103(a). 3 4 35-34-106. Health care services and right of 5 conscience; civil remedies. 6 7 A health care provider, health care institution or health 8 care payer may bring a civil action for damages or 9 injunctive relief, or both, in a court of competent 10 jurisdiction for any alleged violation of this act. 11 12 Section 2. 13 14 (a) This act shall apply to health care services 15 provided, and health care payment obligations, that were 16 provided or arose on and after July 1, 2025. 17 18 (b) This act shall not be construed to supersede any 19 law of the state that is equally as protective of the 20 conscience or more protective of the conscience than this 21 act. 22 2025 STATE OF WYOMING 25LSO-0340 14 HB0115 1 Section 3. The department of insurance and the 2 department of health shall promulgate all rules necessary 3 to implement this act. 4 5 Section 4. 6 7 (a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this 8 section, this act is effective July 1, 2025. 9 10 (b) Sections 3 and 4 of this act are effective 11 immediately upon completion of all acts necessary for a 12 bill to become law as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of 13 the Wyoming Constitution. 14 15 (END)