HHS-OCR Complaints Re COVID-19 Medical Discrimination
States: Washington, Alabama, Tennessee, Utah, Oklahoma, Connecticut, North Carolina, Oregon, Nebraska, Arizona, DC, Texas
Date Filed: 2020
Agency: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights
Overview: These complaints concern illegal disability discrimination in medical care that is putting the lives of people with disabilities at imminent risk during the COVID-19 pandemic. The complaints challenge discriminatory crisis standard of care plans, no-visitor policies, and inaccessible testing that violate federal disability rights laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (Section 504), and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Crisis Standard of Care Complaints
No-Visitor Complaints
Other Complaints
Inaccessible Testing: Nebraska
HHS-OCR Documents
HHS-OCR Bulletin: Civil Rights, HIPAA, and COVID-19
HHS-OCR Resolution: Connecticut
HHS-OCR Resolution: Texas and North Carolina
HHS-OCR Resolution: Medstar Health
Additional Resources
Webinar: Disability Discrimination in the Rationing of Life Saving COVID Treatment: Who Gets Left Behind?
Evaluation Framework for Crisis Standard of Care Plans
Evaluation Framework for Hospital Visitor Policies
AADMD Statement on People with I/DD and the Allocation of Ventilators During the COVID-19 Pandemic
50 State Crisis Standard of Care Plan Overview
Press Releases
Disability Discrimination Complaint Filed Over COVID-19 Treatment Rationing Plan in Washington State
Disability Discrimination Complaint Filed Over Alabama’s COVID-19 Treatment Rationing Plan
NC Increases COVID-19 Medical Rationing Protections for Disabled Patients
Civil Rights Groups Secure Federal Approval of Revised Crisis Standards of Care in Arizona
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