AG designee briefs commission on Section 504 litigation and health-care civil-rights duties

Anne Lynch, assistant attorney general and the Massachusetts Attorney General—s disability rights coordinator, told the Permanent Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities on March 12 that litigation challenging recent Section 504 rulemaking is underway and that health-care providers must continue to meet federal and state civil-rights obligations.

Lynch said the case, long known as Texas v. Becerra and now filed as Texas v. Kennedy after the HHS appointment, was brought in September 2024 by 17 states and challenges HHS—s May 2024 Section 504 regulations. The states— complaint, she said, contests multiple provisions of the rule and argues some regulatory language exceeds statutory authority.

The dispute matters to patients and providers because the May 2024 rules added or clarified requirements the attorney general—s office says apply in health-care settings: digital accessibility for websites and apps, accessibility for newly purchased medical diagnostic equipment, maintenance of accessible features, allowances for service animals, and requirements to provide auxiliary aids and services for effective communication.

Lynch noted one contested item is the Fourth Circuit—s recognition, in a recent ruling, that gender dysphoria can be…