Congress strengthens Harkin law, boosts nondiscrimination protections

Lawmakers in the Senate and House took decisive steps to uphold full implementation of the Harkin law, the landmark provider nondiscrimination law included in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and backed by the American Optometric Association (AOA) and COA.

The anti-discrimination provisions of the statute were put in jeopardy through a flawed interpretation published in a FAQ document by the US Health and Human Services (HHS) Department last April. The original FAQ mistakenly said that the Harkin provision, section 2706 of the ACA, does not require health plans to contract with all types of providers and does not govern provider rates. AOA had secured commitment that the misinterpretation would be fixed, but HHS had not acted for months to publish a revision. 

Thanks to AOA's efforts, language was added to the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014, the omnibus federal budget bill, that was recently signed into law. HHS now has 30 days to change its interpretation to reflect the intent of the law.

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