All Providers: Make Sure Your COVID-19 Policies are Not Discriminatory! New Release from HHS’ OCR

From HHS:

The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S Department of Health and Human Services announced the resolution of three disability discrimination complaints to ensure that patients with disabilities are allowed access to support persons in MedStar Health hospitals and care locations during the COVID-19 pandemic. A support person may be a family member, personal care assistant, similar disability service provider, or other individual knowledgeable about the management or care of the patient who is authorized to assist the patient in making decisions.

None of the individuals in the complaints had COVID-19, but all were impacted by MedStar Health’s temporary visitor restrictions adopted as infection control measures under the COVID-19 public health emergency, which they alleged denied them the support they needed for their disabilities to ensure equal access to health care. The three complaints alleged that the patients were denied their support persons. Each patient had varying support needs, including (1) a patient with neuro-cognitive deficits from a stroke, partial blindness, and cancer who was denied a support person while seeking treatment for seizure symptoms in the emergency department at MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital in Maryland; (2) a patient with hearing loss and brain dysfunction, causing disorientation and memory loss, who was denied a support person while recovering from heart surgery at the MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C.; and (3) a patient with advanced neuro-muscular autoimmune disease, causing memory loss as well as physical impairments, who was denied a support person when admitted to the MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C. for a pre-scheduled surgery.

In all three instances, the patients with disabilities alleged that they were denied support persons because of temporary visitor restrictions adopted by MedStar as infection control measures under the COVID-19 public health emergency. Without their support persons, the complainants collectively alleged they were denied effective communication with their treatment teams, denied the ability to make informed decisions and provide consent, and were subjected unnecessarily to physical and pharmacological restraints.

OCR enforces Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, two federal laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability in programs receiving Federal financial assistance.

OCR worked with the complainants and MedStar Health to resolve the issues in their complaints through OCR’s early complaint resolution process and to provide technical assistance on the application of federal disability law requirements. MedStar Health revised its policy to clearly distinguish between “visitors” and “support persons,” who perform specific disability-related functions for patients with disabilities when necessary to have an equal opportunity to obtain and benefit from health care services. MedStar’s policy applies to all its health care locations throughout Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia, encompassing 10 hospitals, 14 urgent care centers, 7 cancer treatment centers and over 100 locations providing services including physical therapy, orthopedics, heart and vascular care.

Please click here for further guidance from HHS’ OCR on Civil Rights and COVID-19.