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.
Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer has signed an executive order protecting transgender individuals from having their medical or personal information shared with out-of-state authorities seeking to prosecute them for obtaining gender-affirming care.
Meyer signed the order last Friday at the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center, surrounded by LGBTQ advocates and activists.
The order prohibits Delaware state agencies from cooperating with out-of-state investigations targeting anyone who provides, receives, or assists others in obtaining legal gender-affirming care, such as hormone therapy or puberty blockers. It also bars agencies from sharing medical records, billing data, or personal information about anyone involved in such care.
An estimated 100 transgender inmates are missing and presumed dead after an Israeli airstrike flattened part of Iran’s Evin Prison late last month.
Israeli officials described the June 23 strike as "symbolic," according to The New York Times. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar called it retaliation for Iranian missile attacks on civilian targets and framed it as a form of liberation for Iran's political prisoners.
Critics say Israel showed total disregard for the lives and safety of prisoners, launching the strike at noon on a workday when the prison was full of visitors, lawyers, and medical staff.
A new Williams Institute report shows LGBTQ adults are more likely to rely on food assistance -- and could be disproportionately harmed by Republican-led efforts to slash SNAP funding.
A new report from the Williams Institute, an LGBTQ-focused think tank at UCLA School of Law, finds that 15% of LGBTQ adults -- nearly 2.1 million people -- received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits in the past year.
The report arrives as Congress prepares to pass legislation backed by President Donald Trump that would make his 2017 tax cuts permanent. In exchange -- particularly for high-income earners and corporations -- the Republican-backed bill proposes significant cuts to domestic social safety net programs.
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