Gov. Matt Meyer continues to sign a multitude of bills after the end of the legislative session, now finalizing a package of new healthcare laws.
The governor signed six bills across the healthcare spectrum Monday, including creating a lactation program for incarcerated individuals, banning gas station heroin and expanding support for deaf and hard of hearing Delawareans.
“There's always more work to be done to improve health care access in our communities. Each of these bills plays an important role in making our entire state safer, healthier and ultimately happier.”
Other bills signed aim to bolster lead-based paint inspection and remediation efforts, bring more prescription opioid settlement funds into Delaware and designate August 31, 2025 as “International Overdose Awareness Day” in the First State.
Gov. Meyer also signed House Bill 205, a blanket healthcare provider protection bill sponsored by State Rep. Cyndi Romer (D-Newark)
The bill ensures that no healthcare provider in Delaware can be sued for performing lawful health services in-state that have been deemed unlawful in other states.
This means practitioners in the First State cannot face legal action for abortion and reproductive services, fertility and IVF treatments, as well as gender-affirming care, which are all protected under Delaware law.
Delaware has already passed two separate provider protection bills for abortion and IVF services, but Rep. Romer says it only makes sense to expand these types of protections.
“HB 205 is a first of its kind. It offers broad protections for all providers for all forms of lawful healthcare — no carveouts, no exceptions, just a clear message that whether you agree with it or not, if it's legal in Delaware, it's protected in Delaware," she said.
The bill’s signage comes a month after Gov. Meyer signed an executive order directly protecting gender-affirming care and providers in Delaware.
His order came two days after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Tennessee ruling that said state bans on gender-affirming care for minors are constitutional.
Several key health-related bills still await signature from the governor, including one to prevent medical debt from affecting an individual’s credit score and another that would restructure the Prescription Opioid Settlement Distribution Commission.
