Doctors’ offices, hospitals, insurers and others that receive federal dollars would no longer be allowed to discriminate against gays and transgender individuals under a proposed rule from the Obama administration released Thursday.
The wide-ranging proposal extends discrimination protection for the first time to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals and people with a different gender identity.
Federal regulations already prohibit discrimination in health plans under the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability.
The rule applies to all healthcare programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance from the Department of Health and Human Services.
It also applies to federal and state-run Obamacare marketplaces.
The administration wants comments on whether the regulation should include any specific exemptions for healthcare providers, health plans or other covered entities.
“HHS wants to ensure that the rule has the proper scope and appropriately protects sincerely held religious beliefs to the extent that those beliefs conflict with provisions of the regulation,” the proposed rule said.
The administration emphasized that the rule would not displace protections under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and provisions related to exemptions for providing abortion and birth control services.
If enacted, the rule would be widespread. It defines federal financial assistance as grants, loans, subsidies or even contracts of insurance.
It would affect hospitals, health clinics, insurance plan issuers, doctor offices and nursing facilities, according to the rule.
But the rule does not apply to Medicare Part B, which covers doctor visits, lab tests, surgeries and other services and equipment such as walkers or wheelchairs.
The rule does not just prohibit discrimination against LGBT individuals but also any discrimination based on gender identity. The rule defines gender identity as an individual’s “internal sense of gender, which may be different from an individual’s sex assigned at birth.”
