“From pricing to access to research, discrimination in health care has been a problem in this country for generations. Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marks the first time in our country’s history that federal law has provided comprehensive protections that prohibit sex discrimination in health care. The proposed regulations issued this morning by the Obama administration on Section 1557 are a historic and tremendous step forward in helping to stop sex, race and other forms of discrimination in health care in this country. Robust regulations for Section 1557 have the potential to improve women’s health and help reduce the devastating disparities that pervade our health care system today.

The proposed regulations are strong and far-reaching, as is appropriate, since discrimination in health care remains widespread and can have a terribly harmful impact on the health and well-being of affected communities. These regulations will cover a vast array of health care stakeholders — including providers, hospitals, clinics, community health centers, insurers, health insurance marketplaces and other entities that receive federal funds of any kind — and will give force to the prohibitions on discrimination in the ACA. They will support the vigorous monitoring, oversight and enforcement we need to prevent and address discrimination in health care based not just on gender, but also on gender identity, sex stereotypes, race, color, national origin, disability and age.

We look forward to reading the details of the proposed regulations and offering comments to help ensure that they do all they can to root out discrimination in our health care system. This is a huge advance for women and for our country.”

NOTE: Earlier comments from the National Partnership on Section 1557 are available here.