SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah overhauled crisis guidelines Thursday that could have put people with disabilities at the back of the line if hospitals become overwhelmed during the coronavirus pandemic, adopting a new plan that federal officials said should serve as a national model for removing bias from life-or-death decisions.

The changes settle a complaint from disability advocates and set a new standard for other states in removing bias from making potentially agonizing decisions, said Roger Severino, director of the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

“When the going gets tough you don’t throw the most vulnerable overboard,” he said.

Utah was one of several states facing complaints over state guidelines meant to help doctors and nurses making life-or-death decisions about who gets care if faced with a nightmare scenario like a shortage of ventilators. Advocates said the criteria devalued older people and those with disabilities, putting their lives at risk in worst-case scenarios.

Complaints have also been filed in places like Kansas, Washington state and Oklahoma. Five states have settled so far.

In Utah, the complaint was filed on behalf of 20-year-old Jacob Hansen, who has cystic fibrosis that affects his lungs and uses a wheelchair due to cerebral palsy.

He’s one of millions of people with disabilities around the world disproportionately affected by the pandemic. Hanson is more susceptible to the virus but worried that if he caught it and was hospitalized, he might be considered a lower priority patient simply because of his disabilities.

The new guidelines change that possibility, not only removing problematic language but specifically saying not to take into account things like long-term survivability, Severino said. The policies are clear and there are concrete examples of how to put them into place.

“We want to avoid a situation where subjective assessments of a person’s worth or long-term outcomes are driving the process,” he said.

Instead of “downgrading” patients because they need help with daily activities, are perceived to have a lower quality of life or suffer from age-related diseases, the new guidelines advise doctors to prioritize patients who would benefit most from a given treatment, he said.

It also clearly says that if there was a ventilator storage, the machines would not be taken from disabled people using them already.

"I don’t anticipate having to use these standards, but it’s important to be prepared, especially so we can care for those who are most vulnerable when resources are limited,” said Republican Utah Gov. Gary Herbert.