On Monday, the Biden administration announced that the nation would protect gay and transgender people against sex discrimination in health care, according to USA Today.
This step reverses Trump’s policy that sought to narrow the scope of legal rights in sensitive situations involving medical care.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said that federal laws forbidding sex discrimination in healthcare protect gay and transgender people.
HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said, “Fear of discrimination can lead individuals to forgo care, which can have serious negative health consequences. Everyone – including LGBTQ people – should be able to access health care, free from discrimination or interference, period.”
The announcement is the latest step by President Joe Biden to protect the rights of gay and transgender people across society.
Becerra said. “The policy shift will bring HHS into line with a landmark 6-3 Supreme Court decision last year in a workplace discrimination case, which established that federal laws against sex discrimination on the job protect gay and transgender people,” according to the news outlet.
The Biden administration has restored the policy that was established during the Obama years. Also called Obamacare, the Affordable Care Act included a prohibition on sex discrimination in health care but did not include the term “gender identity,” according to USA Today.
The Obama administration interpreted the law as shielding gay and transgender people. It relied on a broad understanding of sex shaped by a person’s inner sense of being male, female, neither or a combination.
LGBTQ groups said explicit protections are needed for people seeking gender transition treatment.
In the United States, there are over 1.5 million people who are identified as transgender, per the Williams Institute, a research company that focuses on LGBT policy at the UCLA School of Law. Most professional groups, including the American Medical Association, have supported the Biden administration’s move to protect healthcare rights for gay and transgender people. However, some social and religious conservatives think otherwise.
