Despite advances in education, awareness, and legal protections, people living with HIV continue to face stigma and discrimination in critical areas such as health care. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits medical providers from discriminating against potential or actual patients based on their disabilities. Johnny T. and Linh N. experienced discrimination when they were informed by their long-time Medi-Cal Health Care Plan physician that he would no longer treat them, citing the health care plan’s policy as apparent justification. According to the provider, the health care plan informed him that he could not treat patients with HIV unless he had a separate waiting area for them. The Complaint was filed in November 2016.
Resolution in this case was reached in separate agreements with all three defendants: the provider, the plan, and the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS). DHCS had been sued as the state’s Medicaid agency, and the entity ultimately responsible for appropriately hearing and resolving disability discrimination complaints brought by individuals enrolled in or applying to Medi-Cal. Our settlement with DHCS has clarified that the DHCS Office of Civil Rights (OCR) will receive, process, and resolve all disability discrimination complaints relating to Medi-cal programs and activities, including any failure to provider reasonable accommodations or modifications by Medi-Cal plans, Medi-Cal providers, or counties as they administer Medi-Cal applications and eligibility. OCR is not the exclusive complaint forum, and exhaustion with OCR is not required before any other complaint or lawsuit is brought, but this forum is available as another means of addressing allegations of disability discrimination in Medi-Cal.