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
Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability in certain healthcare activities. Among other requirements, all healthcare providers...more
Applicable Provider Types: All - Is Your Entity in Compliance? Recent regulatory language makes clear that most healthcare providers must provide free translators or interpreters for patients with limited English...more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Office of the Secretary (collectively, HHS) released the agencies' Final Rule governing the implementation of Section 1557 of...more
On November 15, 2023, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released its updated Language Access Plan (Updated Plan) to further ensure that the limited English proficiency (LEP) community and individuals with...more
On May 24, 2023, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released its first Language Access Annual Progress Report (the Report) reflecting on its advancements since the 2022 HHS Equity Action Plan (Equity Plan)...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
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
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
This summer I wrote about the dangers of English-only policies in this age of multiculturalism. These policies tend to emerge more frequently in the healthcare workplace, the reason being – the provision of quality care is...more
Hospitals, physician practices and other health care providers that receive federal financial assistance, which includes receiving reimbursement from Medicare Parts A, C and D and/or Medicaid, are reminded to post new...more
This article is the first in a series addressing the new risks facing healthcare providers under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act. By now, healthcare providers undoubtedly know about Section 1557 of the Affordable...more