SENATOR WINFIELD LEADS SENATE PASSAGE OF BILL TO IMPROVE PRISON HEALTH CARE

HARTFORD – Four months after a report blasted delayed diagnosis and medical treatments for Connecticut prison inmates, a bill to improve health care services for incarcerated people passed the state Senate today on a unanimous and bipartisan 36-0 vote and now heads to Governor Ned Lamont for his signature into law.

A January 2026 report from the Connecticut Office of Correction Ombudsman titled “2025 Conditions of Confinement Report” documented recurring patterns of delayed diagnosis and treatment, fragmented continuity of care following transfers, inconsistent intake screening, prolonged specialty-care backlogs, and failures to timely identify and accommodate individuals with disabilities. Medical and mental health complaints constituted the largest category of complaints received by the OCO during the reporting period.

“Out of sight should never mean out of mind when it comes to our incarcerated population. Connecticut has a legal and moral responsibility to care for the people in our facilities, to ensure their health and safety. A clear-eyed assessment says we have not always done this,” said state Senator Gary Winfield (D-New Haven), who is Senate Chair of the Judiciary Committee. “This bill is designed to fill identified gaps in inmate care. It’s my hope that, over time, the changes made here will mean that people who are in the system, and their loved ones, can rest assured that they are receiving the care they deserve.”

House Bill 5567, “AN ACT CONCERNING HEALTH CARE IN THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION FACILITIES,” is a multi-pronged approach to improving inmate health care.
The bill:

• Requires the correction ombuds to hire a correction mental health care clinician
• Requires the state Department of Correction to provide health care to incarcerated people for free (instead of the current $3 token fee) and cancel any outstanding fees or other costs
• Generally, provide medically necessary procedures (in some cases, at state Department of Public Health-licensed facilities) in a timely way
• Post notices in English and Spanish about the right to access care
• Upon intake, verify a person’s prescriptions and ask them to identify their primary care provider
• Implement an electronic health records system, including to allow for care requests to be made electronically

• Requires the DOC commissioner to update the department’s health care services plan to ensure continuity of care regarding medications upon incarcerated people’s intake, and that there is an available same-day medication delivery service

• Requires DOC to create a list of time-critical medications, with timing windows, related protocols, and documentation requirements
• Requires DOC to develop a health services staffing shortage contingency plan for each correctional facility
• Requires DOC to begin two pilot programs: one allowing incarcerated people to keep and self-administer certain medications for chronic disease management at a minimum security facility, and another to help with discharge planning and care coordination at York Correctional Institution
• Creates a Correction Medical and Health Commission to make recommendations to improve medical, nutrition, behavioral health, and health care services for incarcerated people

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