Exercise of Religious Beliefs and Conscience Amendments

The definition of 'conscience' was narrowed to mean 'a sincerely held belief as to the rightness or wrongness of an action,' and the definition of 'health care provider' was updated to explicitly include individuals employed by religious or conscience-based entities.

The list of protected services was expanded to explicitly include the termination of a pregnancy, artificial insemination, gender transition, and contraception.

A new requirement was added for health care providers to prominently post a statement on their website and in reception areas listing the specific services they do not provide due to religious beliefs.

Employers and health care institutions are now required to make every reasonable effort to schedule staffing in a way that avoids placing conscientious objectors in situations where they must violate their beliefs.

Enforcement mechanisms were updated to reference the specific unlawful and unprofessional conduct provisions in Title 58, and the Division of Professional Licensing was given explicit authority to investigate complaints.

The effective date of the bill remains May 6, 2026, but the bill text was updated to reflect the latest legislative session dates and chapter numbers.

Added 'Karianne Lisonbee' as the House Sponsor, changing the sponsor from 'LONG TITLE' to a specific individual.

Added specific definitions for 'Adverse action' (including termination, demotion, and loss of privileges) and 'Belief-based health care institution' (including religious health care sharing ministries).

Expanded the list of licensed professions included in the definition of 'Health care provider' to include additional titles such as genetic counselors, direct-entry midwives, and retired volunteer health care practitioners.

Created a new enforcement section (63G-33-304) that assigns the Division of Professional Licensing the authority to investigate complaints against individual healthcare providers and the Department of Health and Human Services the authority to investigate complaints against healthcare institutions.

Added a requirement that providers refusing services based on religious beliefs must prominently post a statement on their website listing the services they do not provide and providing contact information for the Department of Health and Human Services to find alternative providers.

Updated the effective date of the bill from May 6, 2026, to March 4, 2026.

Removed the provision that allowed health care payers (e.g., insurers) to refuse to pay for services based on religious beliefs or conscience.

Removed the definition of 'Health care payer' from the new section 63G-33-301, as the payer exemption is no longer included.

Updated the highlighted provisions and general description to reflect that the right of refusal now applies only to health care providers and institutions, not payers.

Corrected a typo in Section 63G-33-305 where the section number was incorrectly cited as (2) instead of (1) in the context of filing complaints.

Updated the list of Utah Code sections affected to remove 63G-33-304 and 63G-33-305, which were previously listed as new enactments but are now being amended or removed due to the scope change.

Added 'health care payer' as a protected entity with the right to refuse payment for services violating religious beliefs.

Requires health care payer contracts to disclose in bold type which services are not covered due to religious beliefs.

Updated definitions to explicitly include insurance companies and health plans as 'health care payers'.

Established administrative enforcement mechanisms for violations involving health care payers.