Amicus: State of N.Y., et al. v. U.S. Dep’t Health & Human Servs., Southern District of New York

Executive Summary

National Health Law Program (NHeLP), Justice in Aging, and the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) submitted an amicus brief in the Southern District of New York on behalf of themselves and 47 partners. The brief supports the State of New York and 22 other states’ motion for partial summary judgment against implementation of the Trump administration’s recently finalized rule to restrict the reach of Section 1557, the Affordable Care Act’s ground-breaking anti-discrimination provision. Our amicus argues that this Trump administration rule ignores the plain language of the ACA and is an arbitrary and capricious action by the administration. The 2020 changes to the 2016 Section 1557 rule include sharply limiting what entities must comply with Section 1557; eliminating notice, tagline, and effective communication requirements; and incorporating harmful exemptions from statutes not listed in the ACA, including religious exemptions. The Trump administration’s changes to the Section 1557 rule harm the very people that the ACA was intended to protect and removes critical protections that will impact millions of women, LGBTQ+ individuals, older adults, Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), and individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP). The case in SDNY is one of several cases challenging the rule.

Legal Documents:

Amicus

Partners:

Disability Right Defense and Education Fund, Justice in Aging,American Association of People with Disabilities, American Association on Health & Disability, Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest, Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, Asian Resources, Inc.,Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations, Autistic Self Advocacy Network, California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, Center for Civil Justice, Center for Elder Law & Justice, Center for Law and Social Policy (“CLASP”), Center for Medicare Advocacy, Center for Public Representation, Children Now, CommunicationFIRST, Community Legal Aid Society, Inc. (Delaware), Disability Law Center of Alaska, Disability Rights California, Disability Rights North Carolina, Disability Rights Wisconsin, Equip for Equality, Georgia Advocacy Office, Health Law Advocates, Inc., Hispanic Federation, Kentucky Equal Justice Center, Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County, Legal Council for Health Justice, Maternal and Child Health Access, Medicare Rights Center, Mississippi Center for Justice, National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities, National Council on Aging, National Council on Independent Living, National Council on Interpreting in Health Care, National Federation of the Blind,National Hispanic Council on Aging, National Immigration Law Center, Pennsylvania Health Law Project, PRC, Public Citizen Foundation, Public Justice Center, SAGE (Advocacy and Services for LGBT Elders), SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center, Southeast Asia Resource Action Center, Tennessee Justice Center, Virginia Poverty Law Center, and Western Center on Law and Poverty

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