By BD SUMHAC, HFA, and NBDF

Progress Alert! After advocacy from the bleeding disorders community, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through its Office for Civil Rights (OCR), finalized a new rule that increases equity and access to behavioral health facilities for people with bleeding disorders.

The new rule, entitled Discrimination on the Basis of Disability in Health and Human Service Programs or Activities, clarifies that the protections afforded to people with disabilities (including people with bleeding disorders) under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) apply to medical settings.

Read our full statement on the new 504 rule!

by Zach Ryan, HFM; Kaite Scott, HFM: and Dave Rushlow, Munson Healthcare NRBDC

In the fall of 2022, we were shocked to hear of a young man with hemophilia in Massachusetts who overdosed after being repeatedly denied access to residential substance use disorder facilities because of his bleeding disorder. We were even more concerned when it became clear that this was a national pattern.