What Trump’s New Policy Means for Trans Healthcare
Two black transgender women were killed last week. Friday, June 12, marked the fourth anniversary of the shooting at the Pulse nightclub , during which 49 people were shot dead at an LGBTQ site in Orlando. Friday was also the day the Trump administration announced that it was repealing the Obama-era protections for transgender people under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). (Did we mention that this is also Pride Month … and is it now a pandemic?) Even when the US Supreme Court ruled today in favor of strengthening job protection for LGBT Americans , the current administration is rolling back Obama-era policies to give them equal access to healthcare. Here’s what you need to know about this new policy.
What was said in the original ruling?
A related policy is found in section 1557 of the ACA , which “prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability in certain health programs and activities.” According to the Department of Health , “a person cannot be excluded, denied, or discriminated against on these grounds in any health program or activity, any part of which receives federal financial assistance.” This is also the main anti-discrimination clause in the ACA, effective March 23, 2010 – the day the ACA was signed.
In May 2016, a new rule was enacted relating to section 1557 of the ACA, according to which the prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sex is interpreted to include discrimination on the basis of gender identity. In this case, “gender discrimination” is defined as including discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, false pregnancy, termination or recovery from pregnancy, childbirth or gender stereotyping (including the idea that a person should identify himself as a man or a woman). This 2016 rule has also been the subject of several lawsuits , including one filed by the Franciscan Alliance, a Catholic hospital system, in August 2019.
What is this new policy doing?
June 12, 2020 United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a statement in which announced the cancellation of “certain provisions of the Regulations in 2016, which went beyond the powers delegated by Congress in Section 1557. HHS will ensure compliance with Section. 1557, returning to the government’s interpretation of gender discrimination in accordance with the simple meaning of the word “sex” as male or female and defined by biology. ” So, yes, we are back to the outdated and incorrect gender identity rules of “vagina = woman, penis = man.”
In practice, this new policy could mean that transgender people and other LGBTQ people will be denied medical services. It will take effect on August 11, 2020 and, as written now, will apply to all health and welfare programs. This could affect 1.4 million transgender adults and 150,000 transgender adolescents between the ages of 13 and 17 in the United States.
According to the Campaign for Human Rights (HRC) , this new policy will sanction discrimination against LGBTQ people in health programs and activities. In particular, this may include making it easier for doctors and hospitals to discriminate against and reducing access to health care for transgender people. It also allows doctors to deny abortion, citing religious or other reasons, the Wall Street Journal reported . In addition, the Trump administration’s policy change will allow health insurance companies to deny coverage for certain services to people who identify as transgender, such as hormone therapy or hysterectomy.
How does HHS justify this?
Great question – and yes, money does play an important role in this equation. In fact, HHS called the protection afforded to transgender people “an expensive and unnecessary regulatory burden.” Eliminating this aspect of the ACA could save American taxpayers $ 2.9 billion over the next five years, they estimate – meaning they are literally putting a price on the lives of transgender people in this country.
If you’re wondering what’s behind this, Roger Severino, director of HHS’s Office of Civil Rights, explains in a statement : “More than ever, Americans don’t want billions of dollars in ineffective regulatory burdens that drive up their health care costs. We are doing our best to cover unnecessary costs that add to the economic burden on both patients and healthcare providers and insurers. “
But HHS clarifies that they “will continue to vigorously enforce federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, age, and gender in health care, as required by section 1557.” Not for transgender people or non-gender-conforming people.
In addition to financials, HHS says the policy change “removes the massive confusion caused by Obama’s new definition of gender discrimination, ” Severino told the Wall Street Journal , adding that “sex is a biological reality critical to the practice of medicine and science. “. which are heavily funded by HHS. “
What’s next?
At this point, human rights organizations such as the HRC are starting the process of challenging this new policy in court. “We cannot and will not allow Donald Trump to continue attacking us. Today, the Campaign for Human Rights announces plans to sue the Trump administration for exceeding their legal mandate and attempting to deprive vulnerable communities, including LGBTQ people, of basic health protections, ”group President Alfonso David said in a June 12 statement .
In May 2020, when the policy change was first proposed, more than 1,000 medical practitioners and psychiatrists signed a letter opposing the lifting of ACA protections. There have also been calls to delay the introduction of this rule until at least 90 days after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, since now is not the time to restrict anyone’s access to healthcare.
“As the death toll and hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic continue to rise, the Trump administration and the Department of Health and Human Services must work to expand access to health care, not create excuses for service providers to reject transgender Americans, Mara Keisling. executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, co-organizer of the letter, the Wall Street Journal reported .
Where can you find out more ‚and how to help change the situation
Here are some resources that can provide you with more information about this situation, as well as organizations that can help change it:
- National Center for Transgender Equality
- Fenway Institute for Transgender Health
- World Professional Transgender Health Association
- Center of Excellence for Transgender Health
- GLAAD Transgender Health Resources
- Trevor’s project
- Planned paternity
- Campaign for human rights
To learn more about gender identity, watch the video below: