Online Publication Date:
23 Apr 2020
HHS Office of Civil Rights Releases Crisis Standards of Care in a Resource-Constrained Setting During COVID-19

ASN Main Color.pngThe COVID-19 pandemic is placing a strain on states and hospital systems across the nation as they face the challenge of limited medical resources, including ventilators.

The American Society of Nephrology (ASN) and the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) learned of reports of blanket crisis-management policies that were previously developed or under consideration. These arbitrary policies deprived certain patients, including kidney patients, of life-saving interventions, such as ventilation. Last week, ASN and NKF wrote to the National Governors Association and the National Conference of State Legislatures requesting that they urge their members to ensure that their states, and the healthcare systems within their states, do not tolerate this type of discrimination.
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ASN Main Color.png

The COVID-19 pandemic is placing a strain on states and hospital systems across the nation as they face the challenge of limited medical resources, including ventilators.

The American Society of Nephrology (ASN) and the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) learned of reports of blanket crisis-management policies that were previously developed or under consideration. These arbitrary policies deprived certain patients, including kidney patients, of life-saving interventions, such as ventilation. Last week, ASN and NKF wrote to the National Governors Association and the National Conference of State Legislatures requesting that they urge their members to ensure that their states, and the healthcare systems within their states, do not tolerate this type of discrimination.

In an ongoing effort to coordinate with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to address the COVID-19 pandemic, ASN has also alerted HHS about its concerns with potentially discriminatory policies, specifically flagging those concerning kidney patients.

The HHS Office of Civil Rights (OCR) has recently taken enforcement measures against discriminatory ventilator rationing guidelines in Alabama and Pennsylvania and, with the FEMA/HHS Healthcare Resilience Task Force, released official Crisis Standards of Care and Civil Rights Laws guidance for resource-constrained settings, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

If you or someone you know has personally encountered instances of discriminatory policies or resistance to the policies outlined in the OCR guidance, you are encouraged to file a complaint with the HHS Office for Civil Rights.

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