TITLE 56

PUBLIC ASSISTANCE AND WELFARE

CHAPTER 25 [26]

MERIT-BASED HEALTH CARE ACT

56-2504 [56-2604].  prohibited acts. (1) With respect to employment, policies, training, or communications, a health care provider shall not:

(a)  Engage in discriminatory hiring or prohibited DEI conduct;

(b)  Adopt or implement internal policies or trainings that constitute prohibited DEI conduct; or

(c)  Use state funds, including medicaid reimbursements, for any public-facing communication that promotes prohibited DEI conduct.

(2)  Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit:

(a)  Compliance with title VI of the civil rights act of 1964 or other applicable federal civil rights laws;

(b)  Collection of demographic data for legitimate clinical care, quality reporting, or public health purposes;

(c)  Patient-specific medical discussions related to biological, genetic, or epidemiological risk factors;

(d)  Non-ideological training required for clinical competency, licensure, accreditation, or federal program compliance; or

(e)  Workforce training, quality improvement initiatives, or disparity-reduction programs required or encouraged by federal law, centers for medicare and medicaid services guidance, or accreditation bodies.

History:

[(56-2604) 56-2504, added 2026, ch. 289, sec. 1, p. 1209.]