In the face of tragic allegations, the Sixth Circuit has held that a patient’s disability discrimination claim against a hospital is not timed barred by the Rehabilitation Act, which borrows a state’s applicable statute of...more
2/2/2022
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Bodily Injury ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Hospitals ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Rehabilitation Act ,
Section 1557 ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Time-Barred Claims
Next term, the U.S. Supreme Court is set to answer two critical questions under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act. First, the Supreme Court has agreed to answer whether Section 1557 (by way of Section 504 of the...more
In May, Governor Brian Kemp signed House Bill 617, which goes into effect on July 1, 2021. In doing so, Georgia has joined several other states with “Name, Image, and Likeness” (“NIL”) laws that take effect on this date. The...more
In his recent request for fiscal year 2022 discretionary funding, President Biden has asked Congress for a 24% increase in funding (to $47.9 million) for HHS Office for Civil Rights “to ensure protection of civil rights in...more
Introduction - Recent litigation has once again illustrated the ways in which religious beliefs and bioethics can collide under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, which prohibits discrimination in healthcare by entities...more
Introduction to Disparate-Impact Discrimination Claims in Healthcare: Sandoval (2001) and Section 1557 of the ACA - Disparate-impact claims of discrimination in healthcare are powerful and can be incredibly varied. These...more
Judge Frederick Block of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York has preliminarily enjoined HHS from revising the Obama-era definitions of sex discrimination under Section 1557 of the ACA. See Walker v....more
8/19/2020
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Discrimination ,
Employee Training ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
Health Care Providers ,
LGBTQ ,
Section 1557 ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination
The United States Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (HHS OCR) has issued new guidance on prohibiting racial discrimination in healthcare, and new enforcement actions show that HHS OCR remains...more
On June 12, HHS issued its new final rule under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act—the Act’s nondiscrimination provision. This final rule revises the Obama Administration’s 2016 regulation in numerous and significant...more
The Office for Civil Rights at HHS has announced the resolution of its first civil-rights investigations concerning the COVID-19 public health emergency. First, on April 8, HHS OCR announced a resolution of its review of the...more
Over the weekend, the Office for Civil Rights at HHS announced that it has opened several investigations into various states’ plans and guidelines related to the allocation of scarce resources amid the ongoing health...more
Healthcare providers are under extraordinary pressure in these unprecedented times, and they are deserving of nothing less than our utmost support and gratitude....more
On November 13, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan announced a far-reaching settlement agreement with Beaumont Health—the largest health care system in Michigan. ...more
Last month, a magistrate judge for the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina recommended that plaintiffs’ claim of discrimination for failure to provide materials in Braille be permitted to...more
On August 12, 2019, the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS OCR”) announced that it has entered into a Voluntary Resolution Agreement with Michigan State University pursuant to Section...more
Developments continue under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, the Act’s nondiscrimination provision. For example, the first federal appellate court in the nation (the Sixth Circuit) has recently interpreted the...more
The last several years have seen a dramatic increase in legal activity related to website and mobile application digital accessibility claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care...more
7/8/2019
/ Accessibility Rules ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Digital Assets ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Health Care Providers ,
Mobile Apps ,
Online Platforms ,
Risk Management ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Webinars ,
Website Accessibility ,
Websites
On May 24, 2019, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service (HHS) issued its proposed rule to revise the regulation implementing and enforcing Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Act’s Nondiscrimination...more
Last month, a hospital in Louisiana defeated a disability-discrimination claim on summary judgment, and in doing so, provided a road map for healthcare providers defending against such claims. Rosario v. St. Tammany Parish...more
On February 11, 2019, the United States Department of Health & Human Services Office for Civil Rights (HHS OCR) announced that it has resolved yet another complaint for disability discrimination in healthcare using its Early...more
New litigation targeting large health systems in the Southeast and a new Department of Justice settlement agreement show that disability-discrimination in the healthcare industry is on the rise. ...more
In response to the national opioid crisis, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has launched a public education campaign on the civil rights protections surrounding...more
On August 28, 2018, the Southern District of New York awarded monetary damages, injunctive relief, and attorney’s fees to a plaintiff who filed a discrimination complaint under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, Section...more
After two years of undercover inquiries, in which “testers” enlisted by a non-profit requested accommodations for a fictional deaf grandparent, the Southwest Fair Housing Council has filed a disability-discrimination...more
For the second time in a two-to-one ruling, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has revived a relator’s complaint against a home health provider under the False Claims Act after it was dismissed by the...more