Equal Health Care for All: Prohibiting Discrimination and Improving Access
This act aims to ensure that every citizen receives high-quality healthcare, regardless of their background, gender, age, or disability. It introduces new data collection rules to better understand and eliminate healthcare inequalities, and establishes mechanisms for reporting and resolving discrimination issues in medical facilities. Additionally, hospitals will be rewarded for providing equitable care, while those engaging in discrimination may be excluded from federal programs.
Key points
Prohibits discrimination in healthcare: This means hospitals and doctors cannot treat patients worse based on their race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, age, or religion.
Improved data collection: Medical facilities will be required to collect and report patient data disaggregated by demographic characteristics, helping to identify where healthcare inequalities exist.
New Office for Civil Rights and Health Equity: A dedicated office within the Department of Health will handle discrimination complaints and promote equal access to care.
Consequences for discrimination: Medical facilities that systematically discriminate against patients may be excluded from Medicare and Medicaid programs, leading to loss of funding.
Support for hospitals: The act provides grants to hospitals seeking to improve care quality and reduce disparities, for example, through staff training or translation services.
Introduced
Citizen Poll