Since President Trump took office roughly one year ago, OCR officials claim the office has received 36 complaints of alleged affronts to religious beliefs and moral convictions, up from the 10 complaints the organization has received since 2008, the report states.
Here are six takeaways from KHN’s investigation into the issue.
1. The OCR’s most recent budget request revealed the agency received 30,166 complaints during fiscal year 2017, the majority of which involved alleged privacy breaches or patient discrimination allegations. Thirty-six complaints dealt with alleged instances of religious or moral offenses, according to Kaiser Health News.
2. Roger Severino, director of the OCR, acknowledged the agency’s shift to protect healthcare professionals’ religious freedom during a speech in January, stating, “We are institutionalizing a change in the culture of government, beginning with HHS, to never forget that religious freedom is a primary freedom; that it is a civil right; that it deserves complete enforcement and respect,” according to the report.
3. In January, Mr. Severino unveiled the OCR’s Conscience and Religious Freedom Division, designated to address conscience complaints. The agency is poised to have equal standing with the agency’s existing Civil Rights and Health Information Privacy divisions. An HHS spokesperson reportedly told Kaiser Health News last week that the office received at least 40 additional conscience-related complaints in the weeks since the division opened, according to the report.
4. The agency also introduced a proposed rule to allow the CRF division to investigate complaints filed by healthcare professionals. If any federally funded institution is found to have violated the law, HHS “would consider all legal options available to overcome the effects of such discrimination or violations,” including rescinding the healthcare organization’s federal funding, according to the report.
5. Critics of the agency’s focus on providers’ religious freedom argue such rules may jeopardize patient care. For example, pregnant women or transgender individuals may be denied certain procedures or care by providers who view that care as an affront to their religious beliefs, the report states.
6. However, Mr. Severino has rejected the notion his office is focusing on the concerns of a relatively small group of conservative healthcare professionals.
“We’re about increasing access for everybody,” Mr. Severino said, according to Kaiser Health News. “Part of increasing access for all is making sure we have a diverse set of providers for people.”
To access the Kaiser Health News report, click here.
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