HHS Office for Civil Rights Director Melanie Fontes Rainer on Progress and News at OCR
Updates to Statute 1557 that Healthcare Providers Need to Know
The U.S. District Court for the District of Maine recently dismissed two separate suits alleging that health plans’ coverage exclusion for weight loss drugs constitutes unlawful disability discrimination. Both complaints...more
In a move with potentially significant implications for entities subject to the Affordable Care Act, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has reversed course and now contends that Section 1557 of the Affordable...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
On April 26, 2024, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a final rule (press release, fact sheet, FAQs) (final regulations) reinterpreting Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which prohibits...more
On April 26, 2024, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a final rule (press release, fact sheet, FAQs) reinterpreting Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which prohibits discrimination on the...more
With telehealth becoming increasingly prevalent, the federal government has taken steps to protect against discrimination in telehealth and prevent accessibility issues that disproportionately affect individuals with...more
Last month, in Cummings v. Premier Rehab Keller, P.L.L.C., the Supreme Court denied a petitioner’s right to emotional distress damages in a private action brought under federal anti-discrimination laws. The Petitioner, a...more
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
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
Compliance Today (June 2020) - On March 28, the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a bulletin reminding healthcare organizations of their obligations under the...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
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
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
On May 8th, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion with broad implications for healthcare providers, confirming the importance of ensuring effective communication with deaf or hearing-impaired patients....more
Changes are imminent for the Affordable Care Act and a range of other laws and regulations affecting the health care industry. Ballard Spahr attorneys established a Health Care Reform Initiative in 2008 to monitor and analyze...more