HHS Warns States Not To Put People With Disabilities At The Back Of The Line For Care
With coronavirus cases continuing to climb and hospitals facing the prospect of having to decide how to allocate limited staff and resources, the Department of Health and Human Services is reminding states and health care providers that civil rights laws still apply in a pandemic.
States are preparing for a situation when there's not enough care to go around by issuing "crisis of care" standards.
But disability groups are worried that those standards will allow rationing decisions that exclude the elderly or people with disabilities.
On Saturday, the HHS Office for Civil Rights put out guidance saying states, hospitals and doctors cannot put people with disabilities or older people at the back of the line for care.
Read more: https://www.kanw.com/post/hhs-warns-states-not-put-people-disabilities-back-line-care