Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act: A Guide to the Final Rule

Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (Section 1557) prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics), in covered, HHS-subsidized health programs or activities. See 42 U.S.C. §18116 et seq. On Friday, HHS released the long-awaited the Section 1557 final rule, which becomes law 60 days after Federal Register publication.

There is much to consider in the final rule, which has many new requirements for federally subsidized healthcare entities. For example, let's examine §92-210, the part of Section 1557 that for the first time, explicitly prohibits discriminatory use of AI and other "patient care decision support tools" in health care decision-making. As HHS discusses in the preamble to the final rule: "[P]atient care decision support tools at the individual patient level, such as a provider using clinical guidance from an algorithm to assess a patient's risk of a severe cardiac event [are covered by the final rule]. Patient care decision support tools pertain to patient health care decisions and are typically used with regard to a group of patients (or a population) based on shared characteristics."

In our webinar, we will discuss the new final rule, several key changes from current law, and best practices going forward.

Learning Objectives:

1. Review the recently released Section 1557 final rule 

2. Examine the requirements for federally subsidized healthcare entities

3. Analyze key changes in the final rule from current law

4. Discuss best practices for compliance with the rule