Health and Health Care
Communities of color have been experiencing a disproportionate burden of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths due to COVID-19. However, the disparities observed are connected to a long history of disproportionate health outcomes for communities of color due to inequities in health and health care. This set of resources identifies law and policy approaches to address health equity including: disparities in COVID testing and treatment, access to care (including crisis standards of care and vaccine access and distribution), private and public coverage (ACA, Medicaid, Medicare, SSA and other public health benefits), provider availability and cultural competency, and the care of vulnerable populations including elderly, long term care residents and staff, people with disabilities and at-risk new moms and babies.
Resources
Four Federal Reproductive Health Care Cases You Should Care About
It Takes a Village: Expanding the Types of Professionals Who Can Provide Reproductive Care for Improved Maternal Health Outcomes
Promoting Health Equity in Communities Affected by Mass Incarceration—Addressing Legal Obstacles to Hiring Formerly Incarcerated Individuals as Community Health Workers
National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services
Creating an Equitable Landscape for Lactation Consultant Licensure in Rhode Island
Legal and Health Care Repercussions of the End of the National Public Health Emergency
Medication Abortion: A Federal-State Legal Tug-of-War
Black Maternal Health in Pennsylvania
Black Maternal Health in New Jersey
Black Maternal Health in Maryland
Minnesota Community Health Workers – Defining Care Coordination
Unwinding the Medicaid Continuous Coverage Provision: Risks to People with Disabilities and Limited English Proficiency
Spotlight
Some Courts are Finding that a Gender Dysphoria Diagnosis Entitles Individuals to Legal Protections Under the ADA
New Regulations Take on the Long-Standing Problem of Access to Services in Medicaid Programs
State Medicaid Programs Urgently Need to Prepare for the End of the COVID Public Health Emergency: These Tools and Resources Can Help
Learn More
Real-time assistance for questions related to COVID-19 response
The Network can assist local, county, tribal and state health agencies with timely guidance, resources and information critical to key COVID-19 response measures, particularly in the areas of:
- public health authority and emergency powers,
- constitutionality of practices,
- health data privacy,
- protections for disadvantaged and vulnerable individuals,
- crisis standards of care, and
- ethical decision making.
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Legal Research & Assistance
Experienced legal experts are available to answer questions and provide research, analysis and guidance. Let us know what you’re working on and together we can figure out how we can help.
Legal Assistance Library
Explore the Network’s Legal Assistance Library to find answers to commonly asked questions on a variety of public health topics.