Hospitals, outpatient clinics, and telehealth practices know they need policies and training on their employee equal employment and anti-harassment policies. These health care providers know that when supervisors are not properly trained, costly employment claims can arise.

Equally as important, health care providers need policies and training on their patient antidiscrimination policies. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) — the federal agency that enforces laws against discrimination by certain health care providers based on race, color, national origin, disability, age, religion, and sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity) — recently issued reminders about antidiscrimination laws in the age of COVID-19.

Specifically, HHS discussed in the FAQs that patients with disabilities are protected by several federal laws, including the antidiscrimination provision (Section 1557) of the Affordable Care Act. With respect to patients with disabilities, the FAQs instruct:

• When these laws apply, they also apply to state Crisis Standards of Care plans and procedures for triaging scarce resources that hospitals are required to follow, and to hospitals adopting and implementing standards, whether by choice or because they are required.
• When allocating scarce resources or care in a public health emergency, covered entities must analyze the specific patient’s ability to benefit from the treatment sought, free from stereotypes and biases about...

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