Crisis standards of care and civil rights laws

(a) Standards of care States and local governmental entities shall develop crisis standards of care for implementation during the period of a disaster or public health emergency pursuant to the nondiscrimination requirements under— (1) section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794); and (2) section 1557 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18116). (b) Inclusions In developing and implementing crisis standards of care in accordance with subsection (a), States and local governmental entities shall comply with: (1) The crisis standards of care described in the guidance issued by the Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services entitled Bulletin: Civil Rights, HIPAA, and the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19) and dated March 28, 2020 and any best practices developed by the Office of Civil Rights pursuant to such guidance. (2) The following requirements: (A) States and local governmental entities may not develop or implement potentially discriminatory policies that negatively affect covered individuals or children. Such policies may address the application of crisis standards of care in resource-constrained settings during disasters and public health emergencies. (B) During disasters and public health emergencies, civil rights may not be suspended or waived. (C) Crisis standards of care shall reflect that every human being has fundamental and inherent dignity, equity, and worth, and has a right to be treated equally and fairly in the provision of health care services under Federal civil rights laws. (D) Crisis standards of care shall be sufficiently clear to allow practitioners to apply such standards of care, especially when stewarding of scare resources means withholding or withdrawing critical care services. Such standards of care shall reflect the values, wishes, and interest of all patients, especially covered individuals and children. (E) States and local governmental entities shall partner with, and work to ensure strong public engagement of, community and provider stakeholders, with particular attention to the needs of covered individuals and children. (F) States and local governmental entities shall use ethically and clinically sound planning to secure equitable allocation of resources and fair protections for covered individuals and children. (G) States and local governmental entities shall develop specific response measures to meet the needs of covered individuals and children. (H) States and local governmental entities shall seek to eliminate the use of class, race, ethnicity, neighborhood, disability, and age in decisions relating to access of care.