Pennsylvania Reverses Guidance on Disability Care During Covid-19

Pennsylvania’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic will now comply with federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination based on disability, resolving a complaint filed against the state’s Department of Health.

The changes ensure providers in the state can’t make decisions based on disability as they determine who will receive life-saving treatment and access to things like ventilators.

The Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday that state officials had revised the Interim Pennsylvania Crisis Standards of Care for Pandemic Guidelines, which previously listed specific impairments or disabilities that would put those people ...