§ 1128 - Access to health services and testing - Vermont Statutes

§ 1128. Access to health services and testing

(a) No health care provider or facility shall request or require any applicant for care or services or any client or patient to have an HIV-related blood test as a condition for receiving unrelated treatment or service nor shall any such provider or facility discriminate against any applicant, client or patient on the basis of a person's having a positive test result from an HIV-related blood test. Nothing in this section shall preclude health care providers or facilities from recommending testing for medically appropriate diagnostic purposes or from administering to clients or patients who consent to have an HIV-related blood test.

(b) Failure of a health care provider to comply with any provision of this section shall constitute grounds for disciplinary action or any other regulatory action authorized by law. Failure of a health care facility to comply with any provision of this section shall constitute grounds for modification, suspension or revocation of the facility's license, authority to operate, or any other regulatory action authorized by law. Any such regulatory action shall be taken in accordance with the disciplinary, licensing or other procedures established by law for the board or agency having jurisdiction over the health care provider or facility.

(c) A person aggrieved by a violation of this section or the attorney general on behalf of such a person may bring an action for injunctive relief and damages in the superior court of the county in which the violation is alleged to have occurred. The court may award costs and reasonable attorney's fees to an aggrieved person who prevails in an action brought under this subsection. (Added 1987, No. 176 (Adj. Sess.), § 5.)