HSS Guidance on Rationing Medical Treatment

On March 28, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a Bulletin entitled “Civil Rights, HIPAA, and the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19),” stating, “HHS is committed to leaving no one behind during an emergency, and this guidance is designed to help health care providers meet that goal…Persons with disabilities…should not be put at the end of the line for health services during emergencies. Our civil rights laws protect the equal dignity of every human life from ruthless utilitarianism.” 

View the more detailed explanation of how the requirements set forth in the HHS Bulletin would apply and how states and health care providers can take steps to modify policies and practices to avoid disability discrimination here.