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Senate
sSB239 / File No. 31 1
General Assembly File No. 31
February Session, 2026 Substitute Senate Bill No. 239
Senate, March 16, 2026
The Committee on Public Health reported through SEN.
ANWAR of the 3rd Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the
part of the Senate, that the substitute bill ought to pass.
AN ACT CONCERNING NUTRITION AND FOOD-BASED
INTERVENTIONS FOR PATIENTS WITH DIABETES AND
CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 19a -127k of the general statutes is amended by 1
adding subsection (j) as follows (Effective October 1, 2026): 2
(NEW) (j) When conducting a community health needs assessment, 3
each hospital shall identify the nutrition needs of community members 4
with diabetes and congestive heart failure and, to the extent permissible 5
under federal law, (1) include such nutrition needs in the hospital's 6
community health needs assessment, and (2) include medically tailored 7
and food-based interventions for community members with diabetes or 8
congestive heart failure in the hospital's implementation strategy. 9
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2026 19a-127k(j)
sSB239 File No. 31
sSB239 / File No. 31 2
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In Subsec. (j), "examine" was changed to "identify" for clarity.
PH Joint Favorable Subst.
sSB239 File No. 31
sSB239 / File No. 31 3
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 has no fiscal impact to the state because it adjusts
requirements for community needs assessments, which UConn Health
is not required to complete.
The Out Years
State Impact: None
Municipal Impact: None
sSB239 File No. 31
sSB239 / File No. 31 4
OLR Bill Analysis
sSB 239
AN ACT CONCERNING NUTRITION AND FOOD -BASED
INTERVENTIONS FOR PATIENTS WITH DIABETES AND
CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE.
SUMMARY
This bill requires hospitals, when conducting a community health
needs assessment, to examine the nutritional needs of community
members with diabetes and congestive heart failure. Specifically, the bill
requires hospitals, to the extent federal law allows, to inclu de these
community members’ (1) nutrition needs in their assessment and (2)
medically tailored and food -based interventions in their
implementation strategy.
To maintain tax-exempt status under federal law, a nonprofit hospital
must, among other things, (1) conduct a community health needs
assessment at least once every three years and (2) adopt an
implementation strategy to meet the needs identified in the assessment.
Federal regulations set various steps that hospitals must take in
completing these requirements (26 C.F.R. § 1.501(r)-3).
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2026
COMMITTEE ACTION
Public Health Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 30 Nay 1 (03/02/2026)