Latest DOJ Settlement over HIV Discrimination by Health-Care Providers

See this press release, which begins:

The Justice Department announced today that, as part of its Barrier-Free Health Care Initiative, it has reached a settlement with Glenbeigh Hospital of Rock Creek, Ohio, under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The settlement resolves allegations that Glenbeigh violated the ADA by denying admission to someone because of HIV. This is the fourth settlement that the Justice Department has reached in six weeks addressing HIV discrimination by a medical provider.

The Justice Department found that Glenbeigh unlawfully refused to admit someone with HIV into its alcohol treatment program because of the side effects of his HIV medication. Glenbeigh’s alcohol treatment program consists of helping patients through the physical aspects of recovery, as well as providing counseling and incorporating spiritual healing. The department determined that Glenbeigh cannot show that treating the complainant would have posed a direct threat to the health or safety of others.

“Ensuring access to medical care for people with HIV requires that those in the medical field make medical decisions that are not based on fears or stereotypes,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “The ADA does not tolerate HIV discrimination and neither will the Justice Department.”