Biden will Protect LGBTQ Community Against Discrimination in Healthcare

WASHINGTON D.C. — (05-11-21) — The Biden administration vows to protect Gay and transgender citizens from discrimination in health care, the Biden administration announced Monday, effectively reversing a Trump-era anti-LGBTQ rule that went into effect last year.

The Department of Health and Human Services said the provision in Section 1557 prevents health care providers and insurance companies from discriminating on the basis “race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability in certain health programs and activities.”

Effective immediately, the agency DHHS will interpret that provision to encompass discrimination against someone on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity in health care.

“Fear of discrimination can lead individuals to forgo care, which can have serious negative health consequences,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement. “It is the position of the Department of Health and Human Services that everyone — including LGBTQ people — should be able to access health care, free from discrimination or interference, period.”

The Department of Health and Human Services joins other federal agencies in implementing similar guidance after President Biden signed an executive order called “Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation” on his first day in office.

Article by: Paul Goldberg, Staff Writer

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