​Several policies and proposed rules affecting healthcare providers were recently withdrawn or reversed by the U.S. government. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on October 4, 2017, withdrew a proposed rule that would have required providers to ensure same-sex spouses are treated on the same terms as opposite-sex spouses “to the greatest extent possible" at Medicare and Medicaid participating facilities. The rule would have revised certain definitions and patient's rights policies that currently defer to state law in order to remain consistent with the Supreme Court decision in United States v. Windsor, which found that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional. CMS said that a subsequent Supreme Court decision, Obergefell v. Hodges, addressed “many of the concerns" in the original rule. CMS also withdrew a proposal to test new models for how Medicare Part B pays for prescription drugs in hospital outpatient settings and physician offices. The American Hospital Association had previously expressed concern about the proposed rule because of its inclusion of hospitals, which have little control over the drugs prescribed by physicians in hospital settings. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services also withdrew a proposed rule, one that required health plans that control their own business activities to demonstrate compliance with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) standards for electronic transactions. Hospitals may still ask health plans to demonstrate compliance to HIPAA standards with voluntary certification through the CAQH Core alliance. In related news, the Department of Justice (DOJ) on October 4, 2017, announced that it will take the position that anti-discrimination laws protecting individuals on the basis of sex are not extended to transgender people. A New York Times article published the next day said this means DOJ will either “stay on the sidelines" in work-related discrimination cases involving transgendered people or it will “tell courts that the law should not be interpreted as banning discrimination by the employers."

HRC Recommends: Organizations should review the withdrawn or reversed policies and rules with their corporate compliance officer and legal counsel to determine which, if any, organizational policies and practices are affected and may merit further review or revision.