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Written by Bill Barrow / The Times-Picayune
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Thursday, 23 December 2010 18:27 |
WASHINGTON, D.C. (RNS) — The Department of Health and Human Services has unveiled regulations that will require hospitals that receive Medicare or Medicaid financing to drop any visitation policies that discriminate against gays, lesbians, and transsexuals.
The new rule, which will take effect January 16, requires that hospitals have a written policy that must be explained to all patients and allows patients to determine who may visit them, regardless of legal relationships.
Hospitals may limit visitation only if there is a clinical reason to do so, according to the rule, which will be added to the conditions for participating in the Medicaid and Medicare programs.
The rule will trump previous practices in many American hospitals that restricted visitors for some patients — particularly in emergency rooms and intensive care units — to spouses and immediate family, a limitation that often cut off gay and lesbian patients from their partners.
The regulation stipulates that hospitals are to ask for documentation of a legal relationship only in the event that a patient cannot speak and there is a dispute among multiple parties.
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