Statement: Donald Trump “removed anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ patients under the Affordable Care Act.”
With weeks to go before Americans go to the polls in the presidential election, Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris wants voters to see where she and former President Donald Trump diverge on LGBTQ rights. target the LGBTQ community,” Harris said in a video he shared Aug. 11 on X. “Just look at what he did in his first term in office. He removed protections against discrimination for LGBTQ patients under the Act Price Control.”
Harris made the comments during a July 20 fundraiser in State, Mass., a day before President Joe Biden withdrew from the presidential race and gave her the presidency.
Harris’ point is very correct. Under the Trump administration, the United States Department of Health and Human Services finalized legislation that removed several LGBTQ+ discrimination protections that the Obama administration had established.
When we contacted the Harris campaign for evidence, a spokesperson pointed us to this change in the law. A spokesman for the Trump campaign called Harris’ claim “false” but offered no evidence.
The law, which outlined how the administration would interpret Section 1557, the Affordable Care Act’s anti-discrimination law, removed measures that prohibited gender identity discrimination and ended broad protections for transgender people seeking coverage. of health.
But legal problems complicate the story. Courts halted enforcement of Obama and Trump’s laws soon after they were passed, so it’s unclear whether Trump’s rollbacks have affected LGBTQ+ patients facing discrimination.
The Trump administration has removed several Obama-era LGBTQ+ discrimination protections
Section 1557 of the 2010 Affordable Care Act prohibits discrimination based on race, color, national origin, disability, age, and sex in government-sponsored health care programs and services. Obama’s Department of Health and Human Services has not finalized rules for using this. part of the ACA until May 2016, at the end of his second term and months before the presidential election. The final guidance included several provisions aimed at protecting transgender patients from discrimination in health care and insurance coverage.
Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services in 2020 finalized its regulations, removing several protections provided by the Obama administration. KFF, a nonprofit health policy think tank, broke down some of the biggest changes:
- While the Obama-era law’s definition of “sex discrimination” included discrimination based on gender identity and stereotypes about sex, the Trump-era laws removed the entire definition of sexism. Trump’s amendment noted that “the final rule goes back to, and depends on, the clear meaning of the word (sex)” which he described as “the biological binary of male and female that humans share with other animals.” other mammals.”
- Obama-era legislation required ACA-covered organizations to “give individuals equal access to health care programs or services without discrimination on the basis of sex” and to “treat individuals according to their gender identity.” Trump-era legislation removed both provisions.
- Obama-era rules barred health insurers from specifically excluding gender-affirming care. They also include general prohibitions on discrimination in insurance coverage based on sex or gender identity. Trump-era legislation removed these provisions.
In addition to Section 1557, the Trump-era law removed sex and gender discrimination from other provisions of the Affordable Care Act related to Medicaid programs and marketplaces. I can buy insurance from them through the ACA.
The Biden administration in April rolled back much of what the Obama administration established in 2016 and added protections for sexual expression.
Litigation regarding the provisions of Section 1557
While the Trump administration’s regulations have extended some of the Obama-era LGBTQ+ protections from the ACA, the chaotic state of the law means that the ability to enforce these anti-discrimination provisions is unclear.
After seeking public comment on health care discrimination in 2013 and proposing legislation in 2015, the Obama administration saw its laws, including LGBTQ+ protections, go into effect. in July 2016. But a lawsuit brought by a group of religious health providers and states that claimed. that, in December 2016, important LGBTQ+ protections were suspended while the court considered the matter. A Texas state judge issued a preliminary injunction in the Franciscan Alliance v. Burwell, stopped the implementation of the sections of the regulations on “gender identity” and “termination of pregnancy.” This order did not affect the provision of negative views about sex. When the Obama administration included sex stereotyping in the 2016 law, it said the provision would provide protection against sex-based discrimination. But because of the order, it is unclear how the Obama-era law would protect against LGBTQ+ discrimination.
Once Trump took office, his administration did not challenge the Franciscan Alliance order in court.
The Trump administration finalized its legislation to roll back LGBTQ+ protections in 2020, citing the 2019 Franciscan Alliance case as confirmation of the move.
But the Trump administration’s legislation has also raised legal challenges.
A few days before the administration announced its new rules, the United States Supreme Court made an important decision. Weighing down cases in which employees said they were fired for being gay or transgender, the Supreme Court ruled in Bostock v. Clayton County that firing people because of their sexual orientation or gender identity is “sex discrimination,” which is prohibited under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Despite the decision, the Trump administration issued its final regulations four days later, removing LGBTQ+ protections and accepting a limited understanding of “sexual discrimination.” Two transgender patients in New York sued to stop the new Trump-era law. As a result, a federal judge issued a nationwide injunction the day before the law went into effect.
Once Biden took office, the Department of Health and Human Services said it would use a broader definition, LGBTQ+—which includes sex discrimination, according to Bostock’s decision. This situation was regulated by a new law, which was challenged in court and suspended.
Our government
Harris said Trump “removed anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ patients under the Affordable Care Act.” The Trump administration rolled back many Obama-era protections against LGBTQ+ discrimination in health care and insurance under the Affordable Care Act. In the implementation of Obama- and Trump-era laws, it is difficult to say how the Trump administration’s actions have affected LGBTQ + patients. The statement is correct but needs clarification or additional information. We measure it often as Truth.
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