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FY 2006 Budget in BriefOffice for Civil RightsOn this page: Office for Civil RightsOverview Table
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) promotes and ensures that people have equal access to and opportunity to participate in and receive services in all HHS programs without facing unlawful discrimination, and that the privacy of their health information is protected while ensuring access to care. Through prevention and elimination of unlawful discrimination and by protecting the privacy of individually identifiable health information, OCR helps HHS carry out its overall mission of improving the health and well-being of all people affected by its many programs. The FY 2006 budget request for OCR is $35 million, the same as the FY 2005 level. The budget supports the activities of OCR as the primary defender of the public's right to nondiscriminatory access to and receipt of Federally funded health and human services - from hospitals and nursing homes to Head Start and senior centers. In addition, it supports the significantly expanded compliance responsibilities of OCR that protect the rights of individuals with respect to their health information as provided in the Privacy Rule, issued pursuant to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). OCR assesses compliance with nondiscrimination and Privacy Rule requirements through complaint resolution, pre-grant and preventative compliance reviews; monitoring corrective action plans; and carrying out public education, voluntary compliance, training, and technical assistance activities. The work of OCR protects individual rights and simultaneously supports HHS goals for strengthening the health and well-being of individuals, families, and communities by improving access to HHS programs and activities. Some key priorities for OCR in FY 2005-FY 2006 are: increasing access by vulnerable populations to quality health care; promoting non-discrimination in adoption and foster care and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF); enhancing provision of appropriate services in the most integrated setting for individuals with disabilities; and ensuring understanding of and compliance with the Privacy Rule. Through these varied efforts, OCR promotes integrity in the expenditure of Federal funds by ensuring that these funds support programs which provide access to services by intended recipients free from discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, disability, age, and sex. The efforts of OCR also maintain public trust and confidence that the health care system will maintain the privacy of protected health information while ensuring access to care. New Freedom Initiatitve and OlmsteadOCR is involved in a variety of efforts to increase the independence and quality of life of persons with disabilities, including those with long-term needs. OCR is the HHS agency with authority and responsibility to protect the rights of persons with disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). It plays a leading role in carrying out the President's New Freedom Initiative (NFI) and Executive Order 13217, which commits the U.S. to a policy of community integration for individuals with disabilities, and calls upon the Federal Government to enforce the ADA through complaint investigation and alternative dispute resolution and to work with States to swiftly implement the Olmstead v. L.C. decision. During FY 2006, the efforts of OCR will continue its NFI leadership role, improving access to community-based services for people with disabilities through technical assistance to States and Olmstead complaint resolution. Title VI (Race, Color, and Naitional Origin) Access InitiativesOCR ensures compliance with the non-discrimination requirements of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, requiring recipients of HHS Federal financial assistance to ensure that their policies and procedures do not exclude or limit, or have the effect of excluding or limiting, the participation of beneficiaries on the basis of race, color, or national origin. These efforts, which reach beneficiaries of all health and human services programs that HHS funds, seek to achieve voluntary compliance and corrective efforts when violations are found. In FY 2004, OCR and the HHS Administration for Children and Families (ACF) entered into an agreement with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and the Hamilton County Job and Family Services to resolve civil rights violations identified by OCR and ACF regarding race discrimination in adoption placements. OCR also recently collaborated with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to produce a video and informational brochure in multiple languages to advise service providers and consumers with limited English proficiency (LEP) about their responsibilities and rights under Title VI. In FY 2006, OCR will continue to focus on a broad range of Title VI access issues including non-discrimination in adoption, foster care, and TANF, as well as access to quality health services. For example:
HIPAA - Health Information PrivacyOCR is responsible for implementing and enforcing the HIPAA Privacy Rule. Compliance with the HIPAA Privacy Rule was required for most covered entities as of April 14, 2003, when the responsibility for OCR to enforce the Privacy Rule commenced. The Rule protects the privacy of individually identifiable health information maintained or transmitted by health plans, health providers, and clearinghouses. This landmark rule provides individuals, for the first time, with Federal protection against the inappropriate use and disclosure of personal health information. FY 2004 was the first full year during which OCR received and investigated complaints under the Privacy Rule. Because the Privacy Rule does not provide a private right of action, OCR is the only government entity to which aggrieved parties can turn for redress, through civil monetary penalties. (DOJ is charged with enforcing Privacy Rule criminal violations). The number of complaints OCR has received since the April 14, 2003 compliance date now exceeds 10,000. OCR resolved more than 4,400 of these complaints in FY 2004. OCR has also reached tens of thousands of covered entities and consumers through conferences, a toll-free call line, and an interactive website providing answers to specific questions about the Rule, which has received more than 2.5 million hits. In FY 2006, OCR will continue to:
Cross-Cutting Civil Rights ActivitiesThe work of OCR often addresses more than one of its legal authorities. Certain population groups may face multiple barriers to services that cross-cut race, national origin, disability, and age non-discrimination authorities, and that may also raise issues involving privacy of health information. In FY 2006, OCR will continue to build upon its successes in working with other HHS components and Federal agencies to coordinate its cross-cutting initiatives. For example:
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Last revised: March 30, 2005
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