HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell – Photo: U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services
New rules proposed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) would effectively prohibit health care plans from denying coverage to transgender people for various treatments for gender dysphoria. The HHS rules, intended to implement nondiscrimination provisions contained in the Affordable Care Act, would classify gender identity discrimination as sex discrimination. To comply, plans would have to cover medically necessary medications, surgeries or other treatments for gender dysphoria if they cover similar services to non-transgender people with other medical conditions.
Once finalized, the HHS rules will apply to health insurance plans sold on either state or federal health care exchanges, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, Medicare, the Indian Health Service, and any health care provider who accepts federal funds. The rules will not apply to private health plans who neither accept Medicare or Medicaid and who offer insurance plans outside of the exchanges. While the rules do not specifically address programs such as veterans’ and military health care, those agencies are expected to implement the nondiscrimination provisions into their programs.
“The Department of Health and Human Service’s proposed rules have the potential to be life-saving for transgender people,” Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, remarked in a statement. “These rules will help finally make the promise of the Affordable Care Act real for transgender people — that they can find affordable health insurance that covers the essential care they need and doesn’t exclude care simply because of who they are.”
HHS will be accepting public comments on the proposed rules for 60 days.
The U.S. Supreme Court has cleared the way for the Trump administration to enforce a policy mandating that U.S. passports list a traveler’s sex as assigned at birth, based on biological characteristics.
On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order declaring that the U.S. government would recognize only two sexes, effectively erasing transgender identity. The order, which pledged to uphold "the biological reality of sex," directed the State Department to revise its passport policies to "accurately reflect the holder's sex."
Dutch authorities say Veronica Clifford-Carlos failed to prove she faces a "legitimate risk of persecution" or threat of physical harm in the United States.
A Dutch court has upheld a ruling rejecting a U.S. transgender woman's bid for asylum, finding she does not face a substantial enough threat of persecution in her home country.
Veronica Clifford-Carlos, a 28-year-old visual artist from California, said she once believed she’d build a life in the United States, but felt compelled to flee after receiving death threats over her gender identity.
Clifford-Carlos left the United States -- leaving behind friends and her dog -- and flew to the Netherlands with her father. Upon arrival, she applied for asylum, telling authorities about the abuse she endured in the United States, particularly after President Donald Trump’s re-election last fall.
A gay former student at a Catholic high school has filed a federal lawsuit accusing administrators of ignoring relentless bullying and harassment by members of the school's storied football team.
The lawsuit, filed by a student identified as "Grandson Rudolph" and his legal guardian, "Grandmother Rudolph," alleges that administrators shielded football players from discipline, prioritizing their protection over the safety of other students, according to CBS affiliate WTRF.
Filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, the suit names Ursuline High School, Assistant Principal Margaret Damore, and the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown as defendants.
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