The Biden administration recently introduced a new regulation aimed at enhancing protections against discrimination in healthcare for people with disabilities. The final rule, known as RIN 0945-AA15, asserts that medical treatment decisions cannot be based on prejudiced notions or the belief that disabled individuals are less valuable than those without disabilities. Furthermore, healthcare providers are prohibited from employing value assessment methods that assign lower value to individuals with disabilities when considering life extension treatments.
This rule applies to government-funded programs and updates an existing regulation on disability protections. It includes fresh requirements to prevent discrimination in areas such as web and mobile accessibility, medical treatment, and child welfare services. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra underlined the importance of implementing the rule effectively during an agency event, noting that it must also be enforced in practice.
The initial proposal of the rule last year highlighted the Covid-19 pandemic as an example of how discrimination in healthcare can have severe consequences. The HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is responsible for enforcing the rule, with OCR Director Melanie Fontes Rainer stating that her office is collaborating with local and trade organizations to educate people about their rights.
Fontes Rainer emphasized the need for individuals to understand their rights and navigate the OCR website’s complexity to report discrimination. In addition to this current regulation, the OCR is also working on a second part of the disability rule that aims to ensure that individuals with disabilities receive fair and equal treatment in all aspects of healthcare and social services.