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Recent Developments in Health Law

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2021

Extract

Disability & ADA: Sixth Circuit Affirms Congressional Intent of Title III

In an appeal from a claim brought under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held in Parker v. Metropolitan Life Insurance CO. that Title III's prohibitions do not apply to employer-sponsored benefit plans. The court reasoned that employer- sponsored plans do not qualify under Title III because it prohibits discriminatory practices by places of public accommodation and employer sponsored plans are not goods offered by places of public accommodation. The court also stated that the purpose of the ADA was to prevent discrimination among nondisabled and disabled persons, not to ensure equal treatment for people with different disabilities.

Type
Recent Developments in Health Law
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics 1997

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References

References

American with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12182–89 (1990).Google Scholar
Parker v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., 121 F.3d 1006 (6th Cir. 1997).Google Scholar
See id. at 1014.Google Scholar
See 42 U.S.C. § 12182.Google Scholar
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See 121 F.3d at 1008.Google Scholar
See id. at 1009.Google Scholar
See id. at 1014.Google Scholar
See id. at 1010.Google Scholar
See id. (citing 42 U.S.C. § 12182(a)).Google Scholar
See id. (relying on strict construction of “place of public accommodation” advanced in Stoutenborough v. National Football League, 59 F.3d 580 (6th Cir. 1995)).Google Scholar
Id. at 1011.Google Scholar
See id. at 1010.Google Scholar
See id. at 1012.Google Scholar
See id. at 1015.Google Scholar
See id. at 1015–16.Google Scholar
See id. at 1017 (citing Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. CAN Insurance Cos., 96 F.3d 1039, 1044 (7th Cir. 1996)).Google Scholar
See 96 F.3d at 1044.Google Scholar
Mental Health Parity Act, 42 U.S.C. § 300gg-5 (1996).Google Scholar
See 131 F.3d at 1018.Google Scholar
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, 42 U.S.C. § 300gg.Google Scholar
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See 131 F.3d at 1013–14.Google Scholar
See id. at 1014.Google Scholar
See id. at 1019–20 (Markin, J. dissenting).Google Scholar

References

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104–191, 110 Stat. 36 (codified as amended in scattered sections of the U.S.C.) (hereafter HIPAA).Google Scholar
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See id. § 1173(b).Google Scholar
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Seachrist, L., “Shalala's Medical Privacy Report Gets Mixed Reviews,” Bioworld Today, 8, no. 178 (1997).Google Scholar