ACL POLICY ROUND UP: HHS’ New Guidance for Health Care Providers on Civil Rights Protections for People with Disabilities
On Feb. 4, the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued guidance for health care providers on civil rights protections for people with disabilities under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act. ACL collaborated with OCR on a number of topics included in the guidance, which addresses providers’ obligations to ensure people with disabilities are not discriminated against in accessing the healthcare they need during the continuing COVID-19 public health emergency.
This guidance responds to many of the concerns raised by disability and aging organizations throughout this pandemic, covering topics including:
- How civil rights laws prohibit discrimination against people with disabilities in accessing scarce healthcare during emergencies, including Crisis Standards of Care (CSCs).
- Our networks filed complaints with OCR about CSCs, including several that were resolved by OCR.
- Reasonable modifications to visitation policies, including in hospitals and long-term care settings.
- Our networks also filed complaints with OCR about visitation policies, including at least one that was resolved by OCR.
- Accessibility of vaccination, testing and contact-tracing programs.
