THE HILL – The Biden administration is bolstering health care protections against discrimination for gay and [so-called] transgender people, reversing a Trump administration rule that gutted the protections.
In a wide-ranging final rule released Friday, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) strengthened the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) rules that prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, including on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, in certain health programs and activities.
HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement:
“Today’s rule is a giant step forward for this country toward a more equitable and inclusive health care system, and means that Americans across the country now have a clear way to act on their rights against discrimination when they go to the doctor, talk with their health plan, or engage with health programs run by HHS.”
The rule involves protections in Section 1557 of the ACA that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age and disability in certain health programs and activities.
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The final rule comes at a time when GOP-led states are curtailing access to gender-affirming medical care. According to health research group KFF, 24 states have enacted laws or policies to restrict or ban gender-affirming care for children.
The previous administration’s policy kept protections against discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability.
But the then-update narrowed the definition of sex to only mean “biological sex,” cutting out [so-called] transgender people from the protections …