Updates to Statute 1557 that Healthcare Providers Need to Know
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Access to quality healthcare services has long been a priority of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and through its Office for Civil Rights (OCR) this agency has, since at least 2001, sought to provide...more
In April 2024, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) finalized revised regulations implementing Section 1557 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). The new, final Section 1557 regulations (2024...more
The Affordable Care Act, which was signed into law in 2010, contained a provision (commonly referred to as Section 1557) prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability in...more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued a proposed rule entitled “Nondiscrimination in Health Programs and Activities.” The proposed rule, designed to advance health equity and protect people from...more
Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability, or any combination thereof, in a health program or activity, any part of which is...more
On May 6, 2024, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) published the long-awaited Nondiscrimination in Health Programs...more
On May 6, 2024, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published its final rule revamping the non-discrimination regulations issued under § 1557 of the Affordable Care Act. The revised rules apply to all...more
On May 6, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published their final rule on nondiscrimination in the Federal Register...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: New regulations effective August 6, 2024 restore and expand scope of civil rights protections under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act....more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued a final rule on April 26, 2024 (the “Final Rule”) under Section 1557 of...more
On January 25, 2024, HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued guidance and responses to frequently asked questions regarding nondiscrimination regulations related to patient visitation. Hospitals, long term care facilities,...more
The HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) on Sept. 7 announced a proposed rule to bar discrimination based on disability.[1] “The rule, Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in Programs or Activities Receiving Federal...more
n January 9, 2024, the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced a final rule, entitled “Safeguarding the Rights of Conscience as Protected by Federal Statutes” (the 2024 Final Rule). The 2024 Final Rule clarifies the...more
On November 7, 2023, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released a “Dear Colleague Letter” (DCL) that reminds schools of their Title VI obligations to provide all students with a learning environment...more
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX) is a federal statute that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in the context of education. The statute is most commonly associated with athletics, and most know...more
The U.S. government entered into two recent settlements with healthcare providers who allegedly denied deaf and hearing-impaired patients or their caregivers auxiliary aids for effective communication. These settlements...more
HHS recently announced a proposed rule (Proposed Rule) that modifies, rescinds, and retains previous conscience provisions that allow health care workers to deny care based on their religious or moral beliefs. HHS is...more
On July 25, 2022, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released a long-awaited proposed rule on Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the nondiscrimination protections...more
Summary - Federal agencies will enforce Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The announcement reverses an effort under the previous...more
WHAT MATTERS - Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights announces the resolution of two major discrimination complaints against healthcare providers. Originally Published in the Birmingham Medical...more
As you are all well aware by now, the U.S. Department of Education recently issued its final Title IX regulations. While we continue to wade through the over 2,000-page document issued by the ED (consisting of the new...more
The U.S. Department of Education has created a “new, proactive” civil rights compliance center within its Office for Civil Rights. The Department describes the Outreach, Prevention, Education and Non-discrimination, or OPEN,...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
On May 24, 2019, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) announced its proposed changes to the regulations issued under Section 1557 of the Affordable Act Care (“ACA”). Section 1557 is the primary...more
As discussed in a previous alert, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently issued a proposed rule amending provisions of its 2016 rule prohibiting certain forms of...more