Last updated: March 3, 2025

University Health Services will work to keep this webpage current. Given the evolving landscape, please be sure to also check the direct resources listed.

Many of the recent federal actions, including Executive Orders, have broad-ranging implications for healthcare and healthcare delivery in the United States. University Health Services is closely monitoring developments, including court challenges that have blocked enforcement of certain orders, and is and consulting with local, state, and national subject matter experts as well as legal counsel to best understand how to navigate these developments.

University Health Services is guided by our commitment to evidence-based healthcare, our adherence to the ethics principles of our professional organizations, and the rules and regulations of our certifying/licensing boards.

At this time, there are no changes to the services offered at University Health Services.

Domains of Healthcare We Are Currently Tracking:

I. Use of Identity (including Race, Ethnicity, Disability, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity) as Social Determinants of Health
II. Gender-Affirming Care
III. Reproductive Care
IV. Use of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare
V. Hospitals and Clinics as Sensitive Areas excluded from Immigration and Customs Enforcement Activity, Sanctuary Jurisdictions

I. Use of Identity (including Race, Ethnicity, Disability, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity) as Social Determinants of Health

1. What are the relevant Executive Orders and Executive Actions?
   1. Executive Order issued January 20, 2025: Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions which rescinded multiple DEI initiatives established from prior administrations.
   2. Executive Order issued January 20, 2025: Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government which makes it the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes (male and female) and directs federal agencies to remove policies/procedures that recognize gender as a separate identity; requires that federal funds are not spent to promote gender as distinct from sex; rescinds a number of orders from prior administrations that protected people based on sex and gender in schools.
2. Are there any relevant Oregon laws or guidance?
   1. ORS 413.161 and OAR 950-030-0000, which establish uniform standards and practices for the collection of data on race, ethnicity, preferred spoken or signed and preferred written language, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity by the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) and others required by law or contract.
   2. House Bill 3159 which requires healthcare providers to collect Race, Ethnicity, Language and Disability (REALD) and Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) data to build a data collection system, develop reporting requirements (including rulemaking), and creates a grant program to help community partners and community-based organizations serving underrepresented populations report this data.
   3. ORS 659A.006 also recognizes sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity as protected statuses that must be free from unlawful discrimination.
3. Are there any changes at University Health Services?
   1. There are no changes at UHS; we continue to invite patients and clients to indicate their identities as they relate to race, ethnicity, preferred language, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity so that we can better serve all students.
4. What is UHS monitoring?
   1. Impact on the health and well-being of individual students and of our many campus communities
   2. Impact on our internal policies and procedures used to assess health and wellness within the larger context of the social determinants of health
   3. Impact on our ability to continue to provide evidence-based health care following national standards and guidelines
   4. Impact to federal organizations (such as Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and other national organizations and research institutions who maintain research hubs and set best practice recommendations for clinical care

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II. Gender-Affirming Care

1. What are the relevant Executive Orders and Executive Actions?
   1. Executive Order issued January 28, 2025, Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation which makes it the policy that the United States “will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called ‘transition’ of a child from one sex to another;” prohibits federally funded insurances including Medicaid programs from covering gender-affirming care. In this Executive Order, “child” is defined as anyone younger than 19 years of age.
2. Are there any relevant Oregon laws or guidance?
   1. Oregon House Bill 2002, which provides protections for the provision of gender-affirming care, including a requirement that insurance carriers, including OHP, provide coverage for such care, and protections for practitioners engaged in such care.
3. Are there any changes at University Health Services?
   1. UHS continues to provide gender-affirming care to students. We will alert students who are under 19 years of age with federally funded health insurance, such as TriCare, that their insurance may not cover gender-affirming services. They are invited to work with our insurance team for resources and to continue to receive care from our providers.
4. What is UHS monitoring?
   1. Impact on the health and well-being of individual students and of our many campus communities
   2. Impact on our ability to continue to provide evidence-based medicine following national standards and guidelines
   3. Any further guidance from DHHS, federal health insurance programs
   4. Further issuances from DOJ on legal liability for providers and “sanctuary states”
   5. Impact on future federal funding for the UO
   6. How conflicts between Oregon state law and federal law may be resolved
   7. Further guidance from subject matter experts

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III. Reproductive Care

1. What are the relevant Executive Orders and Executive Actions?
   1. Executive Order issued January 24, 2025, Enforcing the Hyde Amendment, which states “It is the policy of the United States, consistent with the Hyde Amendment, to end the forced use of Federal taxpayer dollars to fund or promote elective abortion.” Also revokes prior administration’s Order 14076 which directed federal prosecutors to scale back enforcement of FACE Act, which makes it illegal to harm, threaten, or interfere with person obtaining or providing abortion services or to damage facility where those services are provided.
   2. Press Statement issued by Secretary of State on January 24, 2025: United States Renewed Membership in the Geneva Consensus Declaration On Promoting Women’s Health and Strengthening The Family which declares US intent to rejoin the Geneva Consensus Declaration, which has “four main objectives: to secure meaningful health and development gains for women; to protect life at all stages; to defend the family as the fundamental unit of society; and to work together across the UN system to realize these values.”
2. Are there any relevant Oregon laws or guidance?
   1. Reproductive Health Equity Act which codifies into state law a person’s right to receive an abortion, as well as a health care provider’s right to provide an abortion.
   2. House Bill 2002, establishing the broader fundamental right for people to make decisions about their reproductive health, including the right to use or refuse contraception, to continue their pregnancy and give birth, or to terminate their pregnancy.
3. Are there any changes at University Health Services?
   1. UHS continues to offer a full range of contraceptive services, including Long-Acting Reversible Contraception, and to partner via referral with nearby community partners for abortion services.
4. What is UHS monitoring?
   1. Impact on the health and well-being of individual staff and students and of our many campus communities
   2. The impact on access to safe and legal reproductive health options for our campus community
   3. The impact on our ability to provide evidence-based medicine based on best practice national guidelines

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IV. Use of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare

1. What are the relevant Executive Orders and Executive Actions?
   1. Executive Order issued January 23, 2025: Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence which states “It is the policy of the United States to sustain and enhance America’s global AI dominance in order to promote human flourishing, economic competitiveness, and national security.” Order “revokes certain existing AI policies and directives that act as barriers to American AI innovation….”
2. Are there any relevant Oregon laws or guidance?
   1. Guidance from Oregon Medical Board
   2. Proposed House Bill 2748
3. Are there any changes at University Health Services?
   1. UHS is not currently utilizing AI when making healthcare decisions. Any changes to current policy and procedure about use of AI in healthcare decision-making at UHS would be disclosed to our patients/clients.
4. What is UHS monitoring?
   1. Evolving industry standards and national guidelines
   2. Impact to safety and efficiency of medical care

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V. Hospitals and Clinics as Sensitive Areas excluded from Immigration and Customs Enforcement Activity, Sanctuary Jurisdictions

1. What are the relevant Executive Orders and Executive Actions?
   1. Executive Order issued on January 20, 2025: Protecting the American People Against Invasion which states that “it is the policy of the United States to faithfully execute the immigration laws against all inadmissible and removable aliens, particularly those aliens who threaten the safety or security of the American people;” includes section on Sanctuary Jurisdictions which states that “the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall, to the maximum extent possible under law, evaluate and undertake any lawful actions to ensure that so-called “sanctuary” jurisdictions, which seek to interfere with the lawful exercise of Federal law enforcement operations, do not receive access to Federal funds. Further, the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall evaluate and undertake any other lawful actions, criminal or civil, that they deem warranted based on any such jurisdiction’s practices that interfere with the enforcement of Federal law.”
   2. Unpublished Directive issued on January 21, 2025, by Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary that rescinds guidelines for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) enforcement actions that thwart law enforcement in or near so-called “sensitive” areas, including hospitals and clinics.
2. Are there any relevant Oregon laws or guidance?
   1. Oregon law prohibits state and local government, including police, from helping to enforce federal immigration laws without an order signed by a judge. However, hospitals and medical clinics are not protected spaces under Oregon Law.
   2. University Health Services must comply with FERPA and HIPAA rules and regulations around privacy and patient/client’s rights.
3. Are there any changes at University Health Services?
   1. UHS does not request or track student documentation status. UHS Mental Health providers have additional training in supporting undocumented students and students impacted by this executive action.
4. What is UHS monitoring?
   1. Impact on the health and well-being of individual students and of our many campus communities
   2. The impact on access to safe and legal healthcare for all students
   3. Further guidance from legal subject matter experts

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