Federal law prohibits discrimination based on age in programs and activities that receive federal funding. This applies to HRSA funded healthcare programs, which may not exclude, limit, or deny services to an individual based on their age. This document only covers age discrimination in the context of HRSA funded healthcare programs, not employment.
A medical school does not accept applicants that are over 35 years old, even if they are qualified. The school claims that it has an objective to teach medical students who will practice for as long as possible.
A hospital has a separate geriatrics wing. Patients in this wing receive less supervision and recreational opportunities than patients in other wings of the hospital.
An 82-year-old patient is determined ineligible to receive an organ transplant based on her life expectancy.
A program may target recruiting youths into their program around STD prevention if there was previously a low involvement from this age group.
A hospital treats children under 16 in a separate unit from the adults. This is allowed because the program is targeting children to provide special pediatric benefits, such as areas for play, which are comparable to recreational opportunities provided to the older adults.
A program can also align with age specifications that are contained within an HHS statute or regulation.
In addition to the above exceptions, a program can use age as a factor for participation in their programs or services if the following 4 criteria are all met.
1. Age is being used as a measure for another characteristic.
The minimum age restriction is used to measure the development of the child to ensure that child is able to benefit from the center’s services.
2. The characteristic being measured by age must be essential for the program to meet its goal.
A child’s readiness for a preschool development program is essential for the program to meet its goal of promoting the development of children. Allowing children under 3 years old would require the program to significantly change its objectives and activities to incorporate infant care.
3. The characteristic can be measured using age.
Three years old is a reasonable estimate for when children can perform basic activities, such as feeding themselves, listening to directions, and controlling bodily functions, which allows this center to meet its objective in advancing child development.
4. It is impractical to measure this characteristic without using age.
It is impractical to directly measure every individual child’s level of physical, mental, and emotional development without using age.
For questions related to civil rights and discrimination based on age, please contact the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA), Office of Civil Rights, Diversity, and Inclusion (OCRDI).