The Trump administration announced late Friday afternoon it would remove sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination from the Affordable Care Act.
The Department of Health and Human Services finalized the ruling today. How it goes into effect remains to be seen. GLAD (GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders) already has a lawsuit in action, and the Human Rights Campaign’s new litigation practice has filed its first lawsuit against the ruling as well.
“In the middle of a global pandemic, with tens of millions of Americans newly out of work and no longer insured by their employer-based health plans, it is unconscionable that the Trump Administration would take steps to make it even harder for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people to access health care, health insurance, and elder-care services,” said Fenway Health CEO Ellen LaPointe.
“Moreover, given the well documented evidence that communities of color are more vulnerable to COVID-19 infections, complications, and fatalities, this move will do even more harm to Black, Latinx, and indigenous LGBTQIA+ people,” LaPointe said in a press release, which went on to explain:
The final rule would remove sexual orientation and gender identity nondiscrimination provisions from the Affordable Care Act’s nondiscrimination regulation (implementing Section 1557), as well as rules governing other major programs governed by the US Department of Health and Human Services including Medicaid enrollment and services, state and federal health insurance exchanges, insurance coverage, Qualified Health Plans, and the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). …
Anti-LGBTQIA+ discrimination in health care is widespread, correlates with poorer health and well-being for LGBTQIA+ people, and makes LGBTQIA+ people less likely to access health care. This exacerbates health disparities that LGBTQIA+ people experience. Since 2011, the Joint Commission, a nonprofit organization that accredits hospitals and other health care organizations, has required sexual orientation and gender identity nondiscrimination policies in health care institutions as a criterion for accreditation.
The American Medical Association, American Psychological Association, National Association of Social Workers, and other health professional associations have endorsed the necessity of sexual orientation and gender identity nondiscrimination policies. For more than 15 years, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and numerous federal courts have issued rulings finding that federal prohibitions on sex discrimination prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
“The removal of sexual orientation and gender identity nondiscrimination policies goes against the broad consensus of support for these policies in the health care system, mainstream jurisprudence, and public opinion, as over 70 percent of Americans support sexual orientation and gender identity nondiscrimination laws,” added Sean Cahill, Director of Health Policy Research at The Fenway Institute at Fenway Health. “Today’s news is just the latest demonstration of the Trump Administration’s contempt for our Constitution’s guarantee of equal justice under law.”
Read the full press release from Fenway Health here.
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