SB 1380, An Act Prohibiting Discrimination By Health Care Providers In The Provision Of Health Care Services In The State

TESTIMONY OF THE CONNECTICUT HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION
SUBMITTED TO THE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE

Friday, March 7, 2025

The Connecticut Hospital Association (CHA) appreciates this opportunity to submit testimony concerning SB 1380, An Act Prohibiting Discrimination By Health Care Providers In The Provision Of Health Care Services In The State. CHA has concerns about the bill, as drafted.

Connecticut hospitals and health systems care for patients, strengthen the state’s economy, and support vulnerable communities across the state. Every day, they work to improve healthcare access, affordability, and health equity.

At the outset, CHA wholeheartedly supports protecting people from discrimination when receiving healthcare services. It is also essential that the legislature consider the healthcare sector as unique with respect to a variety of issues, including public health, medical futility, and expert professional judgment. We appreciate the inclusion of language in Section 1 of this year’s version of the bill clarifying it is not the intention of the law, nor the policy of the state of Connecticut, to override sound medical practices or necessary public health planning. This language is an essential acknowledgment of the unique nature of the healthcare landscape.

SB 1380 would specifically prohibit healthcare providers from refusing to provide healthcare services due to someone’s race, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, marital status, age, national origin, ancestry, intellectual disability, mental disability, learning disability, physical disability including blindness, status as a veteran, or status as a domestic violence victim. The bill classifies such behavior as a discriminatory practice. By doing so, the bill would allow people aggrieved by a violation to file a complaint alleging discrimination with the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO).

We oppose Section 3 of the bill, which would establish a longer period of time to file a complaint with CHRO from 300 days, consistent with all other categories of permissible CHRO complaints, to 3 years after the act of discrimination. Extending the filing deadline in that manner matches it to the current 3-year statute of repose, which is an absolute deadline for filing a claim for legal redress regardless of when the injury was discovered.

We are not aware of a reason to extend the deadline for filing a discrimination complaint for this particular type of alleged discrimination. It is clearly contrary to the longstanding and well-established law requiring CHRO complaints to be brought in a timely manner in order to enable the investigation and prosecution of complaints when the evidence is more readily available and the parties involved are more accessible to the investigators. Extending the filing deadline from 300 days to 3 years will result in an array of new challenges for investigators and essentially enable a plaintiff’s counsel in a medical liability action to leverage the work of CHRO investigators on the CHRO complaint to inform and fortify their own private cause of action.

As we consider legislation in Connecticut that, in part, is intended to shield the state from changes at the federal level, it is important to note that for healthcare providers, it is likely inevitable that state and federal law and policy will come into direct conflict. We trust that, should the need arise, the state will use its resources and powers to protect patient rights while also protecting providers from being penalized for simply following state law.

Thank you for your consideration of our position. For additional information, contact CHA Government Relations at (203) 294-7301.