As we rejoice Black Historical past Month, we mirror on the function of my workplace, the U.S. Division of Well being and Human Providers (HHS) Workplace for Civil Rights (OCR), in advancing racial fairness and remaining dedicated to the enforcement of federal civil rights legal guidelines to make sure nondiscrimination primarily based on race, coloration, and nationwide origin. This month and all year long, our workplace acknowledges the numerous contributions of Black Individuals, the historic combat for equality, and the work forward to deal with well being inequities for Black Individuals.
President Biden mirrored on his dedication to fairness and variety in a Proclamation on Nationwide Black Historical past Month, 2024. The President acknowledged the huge contributions and developments made by Black Individuals and that “Black historical past is American historical past.”
At HHS, OCR contributes to this mission by main the Division’s work on nondiscrimination and by working to advertise higher well being entry and outcomes for individuals of coloration and different underserved communities. That is mirrored in our persistent enforcement of federal civil rights and privateness legal guidelines to safeguard our providers from discrimination, bias, and boundaries.
A few of OCR’s current efforts embody:
Strengthening Nondiscrimination in Well being Care
OCR issued a proposed rule revising Part 1557 of the Reasonably priced Care Act (Part 1557) that features strong provisions to guard individuals from discrimination and helps the Biden-Harris Administration’s precedence of advancing well being fairness and civil rights. Part 1557 prohibits discrimination on the premise of race, coloration, nationwide origin, intercourse, or incapacity in sure well being applications or actions and is likely one of the authorities’s strongest instruments for making certain nondiscriminatory entry to well being care. OCR is working to finalize the Rule.
Enforcement
Black Maternal Well being: OCR is investigating allegations of racism and discrimination in hospitals throughout the nation, together with in certainly one of Los Angeles’ wealthiest services, the place a neighborhood girl died from the being pregnant care she had acquired.
Environmental Justice
Lowndes County, Alabama: On Might 4, 2023, OCR and the Division of Justice introduced an interim decision settlement of their environmental justice investigation into the Alabama Division of Public Well being (ADPH) concerning the discriminatory administration of a wastewater disposal system program. The investigation in Lowndes County, Alabama, a predominately Black county with a excessive poverty price, revealed that ADPH had didn’t take significant actions to treatment sanitation circumstances. This was regardless of consciousness of resident’s publicity to uncooked sewage, a burden that positioned disproportionate well being and monetary impacts on the County’s Black residents, who might face potential property loss and even felony penalties in the event that they weren’t capable of remediate.
The Settlement was reached after an 18-month investigation. Underneath the decision settlement, ADPH will probably be required to develop equitable and protected wastewater disposal and administration providers, in addition to increase consciousness of the well being impacts of publicity to wastewater.
The Settlement requires ADPH to deal with well being disparities and enhance well being outcomes by making certain compliance with federal civil rights legal guidelines and the fulfilment of settlement phrases.
“Environmental justice is a public well being situation, and the place you reside shouldn’t decide whether or not you get sick from primary environmental hazards not confronted in different prosperous and white communities,” mentioned Division of Well being and Human Providers Workplace for Civil Rights Director Melanie Fontes Rainer. “We’re happy that Alabama’s Public Well being Division has dedicated to take speedy and long-term steps to guard the well being of Lowndes County residents. This group has lengthy been on the coronary heart of the civil rights wrestle, and right this moment’s decision is one more testomony to the continued work that’s the pursuit of racial justice.”
Eradicating Language Boundaries
As part of this Administration’s accessibility and inclusion efforts, together with via obligations outlined in President Biden’s Government Orders and the HHS Fairness Motion Plan, OCR is working to make sure that all individuals have significant entry to well being and human providers applications and actions no matter race, ethnicity or linguistic potential. This situation is of great significance to OCR, as racial minorities usually tend to converse a language aside from English at residence, and communication boundaries usually lead to detrimental well being outcomes together with elevated morbidity and mortality. OCR is main HHS on Language Entry by launching and organizing the Division-wide Language Entry Steering Committee, which is at present overseeing the implementation of Language Entry Plan updates for HHS Workers Divisions and Working Divisions.
- As a part of this effort, the Language Entry Steering Committee is overseeing the implementation of up to date Language Entry Plans for all of HHS’ part Workers Divisions and Working Divisions. The updates made to part Language Entry Plans will enhance and make sure the high quality and accuracy of language entry providers in HHS-funded well being and human providers applications and actions for individuals with restricted English proficiency and other people with disabilities.
- OCR additionally releases an annual progress report primarily based on language entry work being performed throughout HHS. The annual report tracks enforcement exercise and the progress of the Language Entry Steering Committee.
Making certain Equal Entry to Telehealth
OCR and the Division of Justice Civil Rights Division issued steering on nondiscrimination on the premise of race, coloration, nationwide origin, and incapacity in accessing telehealth.
- The steering explains authorized obligations beneath Title VI, Part 1557 of the Reasonably priced Care Act, Part 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Individuals with Disabilities Act.
- It gives info to well being care suppliers about their nondiscrimination obligations and sensible tips on the way to present accessible telehealth.
Strengthening the Well being Care Workforce to Meet America’s Various Wants
Every summer time, OCR continues a long-standing collaboration with the Affiliation of American Medical Faculties to ship civil rights compliance coaching to pre-medical and pre-dental school college students.
- From June to August, OCR employees members ship coaching to roughly 1,000 college students at faculties and universities throughout the nation, together with traditionally Black establishments, Howard College, and Charles R. Drew College of Drugs and Science.
Should you or somebody you already know has skilled discrimination, you possibly can file a grievance with HHS at: https://www.hhs.gov/ocr/complaints/index.html.
