The Legislature finds that:
(a) A mental or physical disability does not diminish a person's right to health care;(b) The "Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990,"42 USC Section 12101, prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities, yet many individuals with disabilities still experience discrimination in accessing critical health care services;(c) In other states nationwide, individuals with mental and physical disabilities have been denied lifesaving organ transplants based on assumptions that their lives are less worthy, that they are incapable of complying with post-transplant medical requirements, or that they lack adequate support systems to ensure compliance with post-transplant medical requirements;(d) Although organ transplant centers must consider medical and psychosocial criteria when determining if a patient is suitable to receive an organ transplant, transplant centers that participate in Medicare, Medicaid, and other federally funded programs are required to use patient selection criteria that results in a fair and nondiscriminatory distribution of organs; and(e) Mississippi residents in need of organ transplants are entitled to assurances that they will not encounter discrimination on the basis of a disability.Added by Laws, 2022, ch. 306, HB 20,§ 2, eff. 3/3/2022.