Section 1557 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

​The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) enforces Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (Section 1557), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics), in covered health programs or activities. 42 U.S.C. 18116.
Where can I find more information?
OCR has issued a final rule under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) advancing protections against discrimination in health care.

• Read the final rule
• Section 1557 Fact Sheet (available in 17 languages)
• Section 1557 Frequently Asked Questions

What should I do if I believe I have been discriminated against under Section 1557?

• You can file a complaint with OCR if you have been subjected to discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability in a covered health program or activity.
• We will promptly inform you as to whether we have jurisdiction to investigate your complaint. If we determine that we do not have jurisdiction over the entity named in your complaint, but we believe a different federal agency may have jurisdiction, we will forward the complaint to the appropriate agency.
• If you are not sure about whether OCR has jurisdiction to investigate your complaint, file a complaint with our office and we will help answer your questions through the complaint intake process and our initial evaluation of the complaint. For more information on how to file a complaint, click here.
• Please note that Section 1557 prohibits retaliation for filing a discrimination complaint. When investigating a complaint, OCR informs all recipients of the prohibition on retaliation. In addition, during the complaint process, OCR will seek the complainant's consent to reveal his/her identity or identifying information, if necessary, to investigate the complaint. Consent is voluntary, and it is not always needed to investigate a complaint. Failure to provide consent, however, may make it difficult to investigate some aspects of the complaint.

TO CONTINUE:​https://www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/for-individuals/section-1557/index.html