Health Care Rights Enforcement
The U.S. is facing rising rates of viral hepatitis – despite the availability of vaccines for hepatitis A and B, and a cure for hepatitis C – and reports show that the country is not on track to meet the World Health Organization’s goal of eliminating viral hepatitis by 2030. While effective clinical interventions have reduced the morbidity and mortality associated with viral hepatitis, the opioid epidemic has spurred new cases at alarming rates that disproportionately burden already disinvested communities.
...Access to mental health care is among the most important and underappreciated aspects of the health care system for chronically ill people. While federal law creates a requirement that health insurers provide coverage of mental health services on terms that are on par with medical and surgical services, these rules are severely under-enforced. Investigation and factual development of this complex area is needed.
...Transgender and gender diverse individuals regularly face discrimination in health care settings and often lack access to affordable, high-quality health care coverage that includes gender-affirming services. The Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation (CHLPI) works at both the federal and state levels to fight against health care discrimination and increase access to care.
...The Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation’s (CHLPI) advocacy efforts include amicus curiae work, which are legal briefs submitted to a court or agency on behalf of stakeholders other than the parties themselves. We draft or join these briefs routinely both to support the legal and policy goals of the communities that we work for, as well as to support our colleagues and fellow advocates in the areas of health care access, anti-discrimination, and social determinants of health. A representative sample of our amicus work is below.
Civil Rights Protections in the Affordable Care Act
- T.S. v. Heart of CarDon (November 2021, Seventh Circuit, on appeal from the Southern District Court of Indiana): Arguing that categorical exclusions in health care coverage for people with autism undermine nondiscrimination protections in the Affordable Care Act.
- CVS v. Doe (October 2021, Supreme Court, on writ of certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit): Arguing that mandatory mail order pharmacy programs present significant privacy, timeliness, and safety concerns for people living with HIV.
- Kadel v. Folwell (Octobe...