HHS Issues New Nondicrimination Provisions for Federally Funded Health Care Programs

Earlier this year, The Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS OCR) < a href="http://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2016/05/13/hhs-finalizes-rule-to-improve-health-equity-under-affordable-care-act.html" target="_blank" > finalized the rule under Section 1557 < /a > of the Affordable Care Act to advance health equity and reduce health disparities by strengthening protections for some of the populations that have been most vulnerable to discrimination in the health care context. < br / > < br / >
Section 1557 is the nondiscrimination provision of the Affordable Care Act and states that individuals cannot be subject to discrimination based on their race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability. For the first time, the rule prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, and addresses issues related to gender identity and transgendered employees and patients. < br / > < br / >
As of Monday, July 18, 2016, certain health care and coverage providers are subject to new requirements under Section 1557 and are expected to ensure their programs are in compliance with the law. HHS OCR has added a number of downloadable resources to our website to reduce burden for covered entities. Certain parts of the rule have a delayed applicability date and we encourage covered entities to < a href="http://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/2016-06-07-section-1557-final-rule-summary-508.pdf" target="_blank" > review the procedural requirements < /a > of the final ru...

Source: American College of Radiology - July 22, 2016 Category: Radiology Source Type: news