Publish Date: May 2020
Type: Memo
Topics: ACA, Language Access, Medicaid, OMB, Section 1557
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Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, Section 1557, known as the Health Care Rights Law, has offered critical protections in civil rights and health care for several protected groups. In promulgating the Final Rule in 2016, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (HHS OCR) went through an extensive Request for Information, issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, and later the Final Rule in 2016. Since then, covered entities have come into compliance with the many protections required by Section 1557, including protections for limited English proficient persons (LEP). On May 24, 2019, HHS OCR and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services proposed substantial revisions to the Health Care Rights Law that would roll-back civil rights protections for transgender persons, abortion access, and language access.