Administration Releases Guidance on Non-Discrimination During COVID-19 Pandemic
March 30, 2020
On March 28, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights
issued guidance regarding the obligation of states, health care providers and entities to comply with long-standing civil rights laws including the Americans with Disabilities Act, Rehabilitation Act and more that prohibit discrimination in health care on the basis of disability. The guidance comes amid worries about how people living with disabilities will fare as hospitals become overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients and may be forced to ration equipment and care.
"As such, persons with disabilities should not be denied medical care on the basis of stereotypes, assessments of quality of life, or judgments about a person’s relative ‘worth’ based on the presence or absence of disabilities,” reads the bulletin. “Decisions by covered entities concerning whether an individual is a candidate for treatment should be based on an individualized assessment of the patient based on the best available objective medical evidence.”
The Society has been tracking on developments in the states (specifically in relation to certain states’ health department guidance) that may jeopardize the health of people with disabilities or other conditions. Additionally, we have begun to monitor and join complaints about policies that could jeopardize life-saving care for people with disabilities during health emergencies, and endorsed a set of
Guiding Principles by leaders in disability rights and protections on avoiding on discriminatory rationing of health care resources. We will continue to monitor this situation at the federal and state levels. If you have questions or concerns please contact an
MS Navigator.