HB 5516

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