The Department of Health and Human Services issued a final rule under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act that extended the prohibition of sex discrimination to include also sexual orientation and gender identity.
This means that federally funded healthcare providers and insurers can’t deny treatment to a transgender or gay patient.
This ruling reverses a Trump-era provision that narrowly defined sex discrimination to mean “biological sex.”
The new ruling raised alarm for Solidarity HealthShare President Chris Faddis, who fears that if a doctor opts out of participating in transgender surgeries, the hospital is at risk of losing federal funding.
“The Biden administration’s newly finalized Section 1557 transgender mandate is an attack on people of faith and is blatant discrimination against religious Americans who object to participating in or paying for products and procedures that violate their beliefs,” Faddis told the Washington Examiner.
However, the Biden administration reiterated that protections for religious freedom and conscience still apply, meaning healthcare providers won’t be penalized if they decline to engage in a procedure that conflicts with a “sincerely held belief.”
“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,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “I am very proud that our Office for Civil Rights is standing up against discrimination, no matter who you are, who you love, your faith or where you live. Once again, we are reminding Americans we have your back.”
The new ruling comes at a time when 24 states have enacted laws that ban or restrict gender reassignment procedures for children. Advocates for transgender people feared that previous policies under the Trump administration made it easy for hospitals, doctors, and insurance companies to deny care or coverage to patients who were transgender.
“Section 1557 is critical to making sure that people in all communities have a right to access health care free from discrimination,” Office for Civil Rights Director Melanie Fontes Rainer said. “Today’s rule exemplifies the Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing commitment to health equity and patient rights.”
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Biden’s rule change has led a group of Republican attorneys general to write a letter to Becerra, who suggested they would sue HHS if the policy were enforced.
The new ruling also found that Medicare Part B payments will be considered a form of federal financial assistance. This ensures that healthcare providers receiving Part B funds are prohibited from discriminating on “the basis of race, color, national origin, age, sex, and disability.”
