News Release

New Proposed Rules to Ensure Equal Visitation Rights for All Hospital Patients

WASHINGTON, DC - On April 15, 2010, the President issued a Presidential memorandum to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) calling for the initiation of rulemaking that would ensure that hospitals that participate in Medicare or Medicaid respect the rights of patients to designate visitors, regardless of whether the visitors are legally related to the patients.  The President’s directive clearly instructed HHS to propose that a participating hospital not deny visitation privileges on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.  It also directed that the rulemaking take into account the need for a participating hospital to restrict visitation in medically appropriate circumstances.

At the direction of the President, Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and her team at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have been working on a proposed regulation that would ensure that patients' visitation rights are respected. They expect to display a proposed rule in the Federal Register very shortly. In advance of this proposed rule, Secretary Sebelius sent a letter late today to leaders of major hospital associations asking them to encourage their member hospitals to not wait for the formal rulemaking process to run its course before they review their current visitation policies to ensure they comport with the patient-centered visitation rights that the President has suggested. Secretary Sebelius's letter is below.

The text of the letter is below:

June 22, 2010

Richard J. Umbdenstock, FACHE
President & Chief Executive Officer
American Hospital Association
325 7^th Street, NW
Washington, DC  20004-2802

Charles (Chip) Kahn
President
Federation of American Hospitals
801 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Suite 245
Washington, DC  20004-2604

Darrell G. Kirch, MD
President and Chief Executive Officer
Association of American Medical Colleges
2450 N Street, NW
Washington, DC  20037-1126

Lawrence A. McAndrews
President and Chief Executive Officer
National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions
401 Wythe Street
Alexandria, VA  22314

Larry S. Gage
President
National Association of Public Hospitals & Health Systems
1301 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 950
Washington, DC  20004

Sister Carol Keehan
President & Chief Executive Officer
Catholic Health Association of the United States
1875 Eye Street NW, Suite 1000
Washington, DC  20006

Dear Colleagues:

On April 15, 2010, the President issued a Presidential memorandum to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) calling for the initiation of rulemaking that would ensure that hospitals that participate in Medicare or Medicaid respect the rights of patients to designate visitors, regardless of whether the visitors are legally related to the patients.  The President’s directive clearly instructed HHS to propose that a participating hospital not deny visitation privileges on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.  It also directed that the rulemaking take into account the need for a participating hospital to restrict visitation in medically appropriate circumstances.

I have tasked the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to satisfy the President’s directive through new requirements that will be included in the Medicare Hospital and Critical Access Hospital Conditions of Participation, 42 C.F.R. Parts 482 and 485 subpart F, respectively.  CMS intends to publish a proposed rule shortly and a final rule by late fall of this year. 

Your organizations play a crucial role in advancing quality care and patient safety in hospitals across the nation.  I recognize that many of your members have been at the forefront of advancing patient-centered hospital visitation policies in their respective institutions or have worked with their state legislatures to develop state laws that promote such policies.  I welcome your input into this rulemaking process once the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) is published. 

Furthermore, in the interim, until such time as a final rule can be published, I would appreciate your voluntary support for the intent of the Presidential memorandum by encouraging your members to review policies they may currently have in place and adopt and enforce patient-centered visitation policies, as contemplated by the President, to the extent that they have not done so already.  Your actions could spare many patients the pain of being separated from a loved one during an admission to a hospital – often one of the most anxious times in their lives. 

I know the President and I can count on you now to ensure that this patient right – and all others – are recognized and honored.

Thank you for your dedication to the cause of greater patient involvement in health care decisions.

Sincerely,

Kathleen Sebelius
Secretary of Health and Human Services

###

Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.

Follow HHS on Twitter @HHSgov and sign up for HHS Email Updates.

Follow HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Twitter @Sebelius .

Last revised: May 7, 2011