Health Law Advisor

On December 31, 2016, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction that prohibits the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from enforcing certain provisions of its regulations implementing Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act that prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or termination of pregnancy. This ruling, in Franciscan Alliance v. Burwell (Case No. 7:16-cv-00108-O), a case filed by the Franciscan Alliance (a Catholic hospital system), a Catholic medical group, a Christian medical ...

On December 31, 2016, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction that prohibits the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from enforcing certain provisions of its regulations implementing Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act that prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or termination of pregnancy. This ruling, in Franciscan Alliance v. Burwell (Case No. 7:16-cv-00108-O), a case filed by the Franciscan Alliance (a Catholic hospital system), a Catholic medical group, a Christian medical ...

On November 4, 2016, the Western District of Pennsylvania held that the “because of sex” provision in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. In doing so, the court broke from the recent trend of federal courts that have felt compelled by prior precedent to dismiss sexual orientation discrimination claims.

In EEOC v. Scott Medical Health Center, P.C., the plaintiff (a gay male) alleged that he was subjected to repeated and unwelcome offensive comments regarding his sexual orientation and his relationship with a male ...