Several US states and municipalities filed a law suit earlier this week challenging “conscience” regulations, issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which allow individual health care providers to deny health care information, access, and coverage based upon objections related to personal “conscience”. In their complaint, the Plaintiffs argue the rules:
“ . . .put providers above patients [and] comes at a dangerous price: it will undermine the Plaintiffs’ ability to administer their health care systems and deliver patient care effectively and efficiently.”
The Plaintiffs further argue that they are being coerced to comply with these rules under threat of revocation of federal health care funds. This financial exposure “could amount to hundreds of billions of dollars each year.”
The lawsuit joins several other actions filed by other states and municipalities challenging other health care related “conscience” rules put forth by the Trump administration.
Related Resources:
State of New York, et al. v. United States Department of Health and Human Services, et al., Complaint filed May 21, 2019.
Two dozen states, municipalities, sue over Trump’s ‘conscience’ rule, The Washington Post, May 21, 2019.
San Francisco sues Trump administration, calls conscience rule a ‘perversion’ of civil rights mission, The Washington Post, May 3, 2019.
Photo credit: Shutterstock.com/Aaron Amat
