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sHB5516 / File No. 542 1
General Assembly File No. 542
February Session, 2026 Substitute House Bill No. 5516
House of Representatives, April 9, 2026
The Committee on Public Health reported through REP.
MCCARTHY VAHEY of the 133rd Dist., Chairperson of the
Committee on the part of the House, that the substitute bill
ought to pass.
AN ACT CONCERNING REPRODUCTIVE AND GENDER-AFFIRMING
HEALTH CARE SERVICES.
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
section 2 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
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(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
(1) performing relevant peer review of the health care provider, (2) 47
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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 subsection 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
PH Joint Favorable Subst.
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The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of
the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not
represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general,
fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional
knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final
products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.
OFA Fiscal Note
State Impact: None
Municipal Impact: None
Explanation
The bill prohibits health care entities, under certain conditions, from
limiting a health care provider’s ability to give patients comprehensive
information and counseling about reproductive or gender -affirming
health care services , resulting in no fiscal impact to the state or
municipalities.
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OLR Bill Analysis
sHB 5516
AN ACT CONCERNING REPRODUCTIVE AND GENDER -
AFFIRMING HEALTH CARE SERVICES.
SUMMARY
This bill generally prohibits health care entities from:
1. limiting their health care providers’ ability to give patients
comprehensive, medically accurate and appropriate information
and counseling about reproductive or gender-affirming health
care services, or about related community resources, or
2. taking adverse action against their providers (such as firing or
demoting them) solely for giving this information or counseling.
For these prohibitions to apply, the providers must be acting (1) in
good faith; (2) within their professional scope of practice, education,
training, and experience (including their specialty and board
certification); and (3) within the accepted standard of care.
Under the bill, health care entities may still perform relevant peer
reviews of their health care providers or require them to:
1. give patients the full range of information on available legal
options for care as the entity determines, including vaccinations
(and the entity can fire or discipline the provider for failing to
comply with instructions to give this information);
2. comply with preferred provider network or utilization review
requirements for insurance purposes; or
3. meet established health care quality and patient safety guidelines
or rules.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2026
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LIMITS ON HEALTH CARE ENTITIES
Subject to the conditions noted above, the bill prohibits health care
entities from limiting health care providers ’ ability to give
comprehensive, medically accurate and appropriate information
(generally, supported by current scientific evidence, published in peer -
reviewed journals, and recognized as accurate, complete, and objective
by experts) to patients about:
1. their health status related to reproductive or gender -affirming
health care, including diagnosis, prognosis, treatment
recommendations and alternatives, and any potential risk to their
life or health, and
2. related available and relevant community services and resources
and how to access them to obtain the care they choose.
Under the bill, subject to the conditions noted above, health care
entities must not fire, demote, suspend, discipline, or take other adverse
action against providers solely for giving this information or counseling.
The bill applies to state-credentialed health care providers who are
employed by, or acting on behalf of, a health care entity.
BACKGROUND
Related Bill
sSB 295, favorably reported by the Judiciary Committee, makes
several changes related to reproductive or gender -affirming care,
including classifying it under certain conditions as “legally protected
health care activity” and making conforming changes to s everal laws
(including to restrictions on health care institutions from disciplining
providers for involvement in this care (1) before starting to work for the
institution or (2) outside the scope of employment with the institution).
COMMITTEE ACTION
Public Health Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 22 Nay 10 (03/23/2026)