For the purposes of this part:

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Assist in the performance means to take an action that has a specific, reasonable, and articulable connection to furthering a procedure or a part of a health service program or research activity undertaken by or with another person or entity. This may include counseling, referral, training, or otherwise making arrangements for the procedure or a part of a health service program or research activity, depending on whether aid is provided by such actions.

Department means the Department of Health and Human Services and any component thereof.

Discriminate or discrimination includes, as applicable to, and to the extent permitted by, the applicable statute:

(1) To withhold, reduce, exclude from, terminate, restrict, or make unavailable or deny any grant, contract, subcontract, cooperative agreement, loan, license, certification, accreditation, employment, title, or other similar instrument, position, or status;

(2) To withhold, reduce, exclude from, terminate, restrict, or make unavailable or deny any benefit or privilege or impose any penalty; or

(3) To utilize any criterion, method of administration, or site selection, including the enactment, application, or enforcement of laws, regulations, policies, or procedures directly or through contractual or other arrangements, that subjects individuals or entities protected under this part to any adverse treatment with respect to individuals, entities, or conduct protected under this part on grounds prohibited under an applicable statute encompassed by this part.

(4) Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) through (3) of this definition, an entity subject to any prohibition in this part shall not be regarded as having engaged in discrimination against a protected entity where the entity offers and the protected entity voluntarily accepts an effective accommodation for the exercise of such protected entity’s protected conduct, religious beliefs, or moral convictions. In determining whether any entity has engaged in discriminatory action with respect to any complaint or compliance review under this part, OCR will take into account the degree to which an entity had implemented policies to provide effective accommodations for the exercise of protected conduct, religious beliefs, or moral convictions under this part and whether or not the entity took any adverse action against a protected entity on the basis of protected conduct, beliefs, or convictions before the provision of any accommodation.

(5) Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) through (3) of this definition, an entity subject to any prohibition in this part may require a protected entity to inform it of objections to performing, referring for, participating in, or assisting in the performance of specific procedures, programs, research, counseling, or treatments, but only to the extent that there is a reasonable likelihood that the protected entity may be asked in good faith to perform, refer for, participate in, or assist in the performance of, any act or conduct just described. Such inquiry may only occur after the hiring of, contracting with, or awarding of a grant or benefit to a protected entity, and once per calendar year thereafter, unless supported by a persuasive justification.

(6) The taking of steps by an entity subject to prohibitions in this part to use alternate staff or methods to provide or further any objected-to conduct identified in paragraph (5) of this definition would not, by itself, constitute discrimination or a prohibited referral, if such entity does not require any additional action by, or does not take any adverse action against, the objecting protected entity (including individuals or health care entities), and if such methods do not exclude protected entities from fields of practice on the basis of their protected objections. Entities subject to prohibitions in this part may also inform the public of the availability of alternate staff or methods to provide or further the objected-to conduct, but such entity may not do so in a manner that constitutes adverse or retaliatory action against an objecting entity.

Entity means a “person” as defined in 1 U.S.C. 1; the Department; a State, political subdivision of any State, instrumentality of any State or political subdivision thereof; any public agency, public institution, public organization, or other public entity in any State or political subdivision of any State; or, as applicable, a foreign government, foreign nongovernmental organization, or intergovernmental organization (such as the United Nations or its affiliated agencies).

Federal financial assistance includes:

(1) Grants and loans of Federal funds;

(2) The grant or loan of Federal property and interests in property;

(3) The detail of Federal personnel;

(4) The sale or lease of, and the permission to use (on other than a casual or transient basis), Federal property or any interest in such property without consideration or at a nominal consideration, or at a consideration which is reduced for the purpose of assisting the recipient or in recognition of the public interest to be served by such sale or lease to the recipient; and

(5) Any agreement or other contract between the Federal government and a recipient that has as one of its purposes the provision of a subsidy to the recipient.

Health care entity includes:

(1) For purposes of the Coats-Snowe Amendment (42 U.S.C. § 238n) and the subsections of this part implementing that law (§ 88.3(b)), an individual physician or other health care professional, including a pharmacist; health care personnel; a participant in a program of training in the health professions; an applicant for training or study in the health professions; a post-graduate physician training program; a hospital; a medical laboratory; an entity engaging in biomedical or behavioral research; a pharmacy; or any other health care provider or health care facility. As applicable, components of State or local governments may be health care entities under the Coats-Snowe Amendment; and

(2) For purposes of the Weldon Amendment (e.g., Department of Defense and Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Act, 2019, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2019, Pub. L. 115-245, Div. B., sec. 507(d), 132 Stat. 2981, 3118 (Sept. 28, 2018)), Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act section 1553 (42 U.S.C. § 18113), and to sections of this part implementing those laws (§ 88.3(c) and (e)), an individual physician or other health care professional, including a pharmacist; health care personnel; a participant in a program of training in the health professions; an applicant for training or study in the health professions; a post-graduate physician training program; a hospital; a medical laboratory; an entity engaging in biomedical or behavioral research; a pharmacy; a provider-sponsored organization; a health maintenance organization; a health insurance issuer; a health insurance plan (including group or individual plans); a plan sponsor or third-party administrator; or any other kind of health care organization, facility, or plan. As applicable, components of State or local governments may be health care entities under the Weldon Amendment and Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act section 1553.

Health service program includes the provision or administration of any health or health-related services or research activities, health benefits, health or health-related insurance coverage, health studies, or any other service related to health or wellness, whether directly; through payments, grants, contracts, or other instruments; through insurance; or otherwise.

Instrument is the means by which Federal funds are conveyed to a recipient and includes grants, cooperative agreements, contracts, grants under a contract, memoranda of understanding, loans, loan guarantees, stipends, and any other funding or employment instrument or contract.

OCR means the Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Recipient means any State, political subdivision of any State, instrumentality of any State or political subdivision thereof, and any person or any public or private agency, institution, organization, or other entity in any State, including any successor, assign, or transferee thereof, to whom Federal financial assistance is extended directly from the Department or a component of the Department, or who otherwise receives Federal funds directly from the Department or a component of the Department, but such term does not include any ultimate beneficiary. The term may include a foreign government, foreign nongovernmental organization, or intergovernmental organization (such as the United Nations or its affiliated agencies).

Referral or refer for includes the provision of information in oral, written, or electronic form (including names, addresses, phone numbers, email or web addresses, directions, instructions, descriptions, or other information resources), where the purpose or reasonably foreseeable outcome of provision of the information is to assist a person in receiving funding or financing for, training in, obtaining, or performing a particular health care service, program, activity, or procedure.

State includes, in addition to the several States, the District of Columbia. For those provisions related to or relying upon the Public Health Service Act, the term “State” includes the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. For those provisions related to or relying upon the Social Security Act, such as Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program, the term “State” shall be defined in accordance with the definition of “State” found at 42 U.S.C. § 1301.

Sub-recipient means any State, political subdivision of any State, instrumentality of any State or political subdivision thereof, or any person or any public or private agency, institution, organization, or other entity in any State, including any successor, assign, or transferee thereof, to whom there is a pass-through of Federal financial assistance or Federal funds from the Department through a recipient or another sub-recipient, but such term does not include any ultimate beneficiary. The term may include a foreign government, foreign nongovernmental organization, or intergovernmental organization (such as the United Nations or its affiliated agencies).

Workforce means employees, volunteers, trainees, contractors, and other persons whose conduct, in the performance of work for an entity or health care entity, is under the direct control of such entity or health care entity, whether or not they are paid by the entity or health care entity, as well as health care providers holding privileges with the entity or health care entity.