HHS Civil Rights Office Issues Guidance on Religious Non-Discrimination
WASHINGTON — The Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights has issued guidance to U.S. hospital and long-term care facility administrators, reminding them of their facility’s obligation not to discriminate on the basis of religion.
The warning comes at a tense time across the nation in the wake of the Hamas attack on Israel in October and a surge in religion-based attacks.
The new guidance complements and supports the National Strategy to Combat Antisemitism, a first-of-its-kind document the administration released last year.
“All Americans must be free to practice their faith and live their lives without fear of attack or harassment,” said OCR Director Melanie Fontes Rainer in a written statement.
“At OCR, we are taking steps to ensure that the religious needs of patients and other individuals are met when they receive care from hospitals and long-term care facilities,” Rainer continued. “These actions support the Biden-Harris administration’s ongoing efforts to prioritize equity and nondiscrimination and this includes guaranteeing religious accommodations for those seeking health and human services.”
Under CMS regulations, hospitals, long-term care facilities, and critical access hospitals, are prohibited from restricting, limiting, or otherwise denying visitation privileges on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability and are required to have written visitation policies, procedures, and practices regarding such prohibitions. OCR enforces the bar on religious discrimination in these regulations.
Civil rights laws also prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), age and disability in certain federally funded programs and activities.
These laws may also prohibit restrictions on visitation in some circumstances.
To help health care facilities understand their obligations, OCR is providing guidance titled FAQs on Patient Visitation at Certain Federally Funded Entities and Facilities.
The guidance provides examples demonstrating the importance of considering the religious needs of patients and other individuals when implementing visitation policies and procedures.
It also contains information to help covered facilities and entities effectively communicate with patients and others regarding their visitation policies, procedures and practices.
The agency also stressed that anyone believing their or another person’s civil rights have been violated, can file a complaint with the Department of Health and Human Services. The webpage for doing so is located here.
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