HHS Restores Individual-Based Civil Rights, Says It Will No Longer ‘Sort People by Race’

The Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday that it would enforce civil rights based on equal protection under federal law and no longer “sort people by race.”

The HHS Office for Civil Rights announced a final rule updating its regulations to implement Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The department says the new rule aligns department policy strictly with the Civil Rights Act as well as Supreme Court precedent.

“HHS will not pressure doctors, hospitals, universities, or state agencies to sort people by race to satisfy a statistic,” said Paula M. Stannard, director of the HHS Office for Civil Rights, in a public statement. “This rule restores common sense and true equality to Title VI enforcement.”

“Civil rights laws protect Americans as individuals,” Stannard said.

The agency explained it will continue to take enforcement action to combat intentional discrimination in health care based on race, color, and national origin. It will also continue to investigate complaints and conduct compliance reviews as evidence of discrimination.

The new rule also conforms with President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14281, titled “Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy,” issued in April 2025.

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Among other things, Trump’s order eliminated disparate impact as grounds for a government agency to target an employer or organization for discrimination. Disparate impact is a legal doctrine that, in lieu of a complaint or actual evidence of discrimination, a policy deemed to have a negative impact on a specific protected class could be construed as discrimination.

The HHS Office for Civil Rights says it will continue to consider statistical disparities, along with other evidence, to evaluate whether intentional discrimination occurred in health care.