Despite a ruling finalized late this past Friday by the US Department of Health and Human Service to revoke sexual orientation and gender ID protections from the Affordable Care Act, two lawsuits defending these basic rights to health care for all are heading to the courts — one about to be filed, the other already underway.
The Human Rights Campaign announced its new litigation practice is filing its first lawsuit against the Trump administration for eliminating the anti-discrimination health care protections.
“We cannot and will not allow Donald Trump to continue attacking us. Today, the Human Rights Campaign is announcing plans to sue the Trump administration for exceeding their legal authority and attempting to remove basic health care protections from vulnerable communities including LGBTQ people,” said HRC President Alphonso David in a June 12 press release from HRC.
At the same time, Boston-based GLAD (GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders) already has a lawsuit in action:
Pangborn v. Ascend, a federal lawsuit brought by GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) on behalf of a transgender man denied coverage for gender affirming care, will test the legitimacy of the Trump administration’s reversal of an HHS rule that had previously made clear that transgender people are covered under the ACA’s non-discrimination provision known as Section 1557. The case alleges, among other claims, that Alexander Pangborn’s employer violated the ACA by categorically excluding insurance coverage for transgender people’s medical needs relating to gender transition.
Section 1557 of the ACA bars discrimination in healthcare access and insurance on the basis of sex as well as race, color, national origin, age, and disability. The Department of Health and Human Services published a final rule today formalizing the Trump administration’s claim that Section 1557 does not protect transgender people from discrimination in health care, reversing HHS’s prior interpretation of the law.
“The Trump administration’s new 1557 rule contradicts the statute. It’s contrary to established case law, dangerous to transgender people, and can’t survive legal challenge,” said Jennifer Levi, GLAD Transgender Rights Project Director, in a June 12 press release from GLAD.
“Unfortunately, the new rule is likely to confuse healthcare practitioners, insurers, and employers, and invites providers to turn away transgender people when seeking basic medical care. This is yet another callous policy coming from an administration intent on appeasing the far right and ignoring sound legal and medical policies,” said Levi.
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