To prohibit Federal funds from being made available to entities that refuse to provide treatment based on COVID–19 vaccination status.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMrs. Houchin (for herself and Mr. Rulli) introduced the following …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The COVID-19 Vaccination Non-Discrimination Act prohibits healthcare facilities from refusing to treat patients based on whether they are vaccinated against COVID-19. The bill enforces this through federal funding - any facility that discriminates against unvaccinated patients would lose access to Medicare, Medicaid, and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) funds.
Who Benefits and How
Unvaccinated individuals benefit most directly, as they cannot be denied medical care at any facility receiving federal health program funding. Healthcare facilities that already serve all patients regardless of vaccination status may gain a competitive advantage if competing facilities lose federal funding for discriminatory practices. Patient advocacy groups supporting medical freedom also benefit from this protection.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Healthcare facilities that currently refuse treatment to unvaccinated patients face a stark choice: change their policies or lose all federal funding, including Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements that often comprise a significant portion of their revenue. Federal and state health program administrators face increased compliance monitoring and enforcement burdens to ensure facilities are not discriminating based on vaccination status.
Key Provisions
- Prohibits any facility receiving federal funds from refusing treatment based on COVID-19 vaccination status
- Applies to all Medicare (Title XVIII), Medicaid (Title XIX), and CHIP (Title XXI) funding
- Creates an absolute funding condition with no exceptions or waivers
- Covers all medical treatment, not limited to COVID-19 related care
- Uses "Notwithstanding any other provision of law" language to override potentially conflicting statutes
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Prohibits federal funding to healthcare facilities that discriminate against patients based on COVID-19 vaccination status
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Use federal funding conditions to prohibit vaccination-based discrimination in healthcare"
Likely Beneficiaries
- Unvaccinated individuals seeking medical treatment
- Healthcare facilities that do not discriminate based on vaccination status
- Patients' rights advocates
Likely Burden Bearers
- Healthcare facilities that currently refuse unvaccinated patients
- Federal administrators enforcing compliance
- Medicare/Medicaid program administrators
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Any entity receiving federal funds including Medicare (Title XVIII), Medicaid (Title XIX), and CHIP (Title XXI) funds
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology