Culture

The White House Says Healthcare Discrimination Against LGBTQ+ People Is Illegal


 

The Biden administration made a step further in the direction of equity on Monday by announcing that LGBTQ+ people are once again protected from discrimination in federally funded healthcare settings.

On Monday, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) declared that the anti-discrimination protections in Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will include discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. A release from the department says that this decision was made in accordance with the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County last year, which established that sex-based discrimination includes bias against LGBTQ+ people in the workplace.

This definition was further enforced by an executive order issued on day one of Joe Biden’s presidency, which mandated that all federal anti-discrimination statutes must include LGBTQ+ discrimination.

“The Supreme Court has made clear that people have a right not to be discriminated against on the basis of sex and receive equal treatment under the law, no matter their gender identity or sexual orientation,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra in a statement. “That’s why today HHS announced it will act on related reports of discrimination.”

Becerra also added that many LGBTQ+ people avoid healthcare settings for fear of discrimination, which can have “serious negative health consequences.”

A 2015 survey from the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) found that trans Americans are particularly likely to delay going to the doctor to avoid harassment or mistreatment. A reported 23% of respondents claimed that they did not seek out healthcare when they needed it because of the possibility they could be misgendered, asked invasive questions, or refused treatment outright.

Assistant Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said the protections affirmed by the Biden administration would make a major difference in the lives of LGBTQ+ people who have long been forced to go without having their basic needs met.

“The mission of our Department is to enhance the health and well-being of all Americans, no matter their gender identity or sexual orientation,” said Dr. Levine, the nation’s highest ranking transgender public official, in a statement. “All people need access to healthcare services to fix a broken bone, protect their heart health, and screen for cancer risk. No one should be discriminated against when seeking medical services because of who they are.”

Advocates nationwide applauded the move, while still seeking to hold the Biden administration accountable for ensuring that LGBTQ+ people are able to access safe, affordable care.

“Today, the Biden administration and HHS provided some needed clarity after the Trump administration did everything it could to undermine and muck up the law to target and hurt our communities, in particular, transgender patients,” said Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, a senior attorney and health care strategist for Lambda Legal, in a statement.

The American Medical Assocation (AMA) added the White House “did the right thing by terminating a short-lived effort to allow discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation when seeking health care.”

Last year, the Trump administration announced its plans to gut nondiscrimination language rolled out by the Obama administration in 2016. The final rule from Trump’s HHS not only removed protections in Section 1557 for queer and trans people seeking health care but also mandated “blanket abortion and religious freedom exemptions” that could be refused to deny care to LGBTQ+ individuals or pregnant people, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF).

But even prior to the Trump rule, the implementation of language in Section 1557 barring mistreatment on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity never actually went into effect. It was blocked by Texas Judge Reed O’Connor via a nationwide injunction in December 2016, just as the guidelines were set to go into effect.



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