When: Wednesday, October 28 at 2:00 p.m. ET
Recent proposed regulations released by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) provide a unique opportunity to address discrimination in health care settings, including new provisions to address language access, gender identity discrimination, and access for individuals with disabilities. The proposed regulations, which were issued to implement Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, represent a positive first step toward improving health equity. Advocates for older adults should seize the opportunity to significantly strengthen the regulations by participating in the comment process.
Justice in Aging joined SAGE (Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders) for a discussion of the importance of the proposed regulations, as well as provided suggestions for advocate comments. Here are some key comment improvements we discussed:
- Ensuring that the prohibition of sex discrimination is sufficiently broad to encompass all sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination;
- Setting bright line population thresholds to trigger requirements to translate vital documents;
- Strengthening enforcement and compliance by ensuring that final regulations set clear and specific standards;
- Expanding the regulations to include Medicare Part B providers as covered entities.
Presenters:
Georgia Burke, Directing Attorney, Justice in Aging
Denny Chan, Staff Attorney, Justice in Aging
Aaron Tax, Director of Federal Government Relations, SAGE (Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders)
The webinar took place on Wednesday, October 28 at 2 PM ET.
