Rural America is certainly not exempt from mandates in the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). The Kiowa District Hospital has already complied with many mandates that are costly and were addressed at previous meetings. The KDH board learned of the latest compliance with The Final Rule of Section 1557, at their October board meeting last Thursday evening from CEO Margaret Grismer.

Section 1557 prohibits discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability in certain health programs and activities. Most notably, Section 1557 is the first federal civil rights law to prohibit...