August 14th marks the end of the comment period on the new rules proposed by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that will jeopardize the health and well-being of vulnerable populations such as the LGBTQ community. The proposed regulation focuses on Section 1557 of the Health Care Rights Law, a part of the Affordable Care Act that bans gender discrimination. The proposal would erase all reference to protections against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, sex stereotyping, and gender identity.
CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers strongly opposes the newly proposed regulation, and, working with a coalition of national, state and local organizations, has generated over 132,400 comments to HHS in opposition to the new rules.
“LGBTQ community centers provide services and referral resources daily to thousands of individuals across our country,” said Lora L. Tucker, CEO of CenterLink. “Centers and their constituents have loudly spoken out against the new HHS rules. The rules promote discrimination and will harm many in our community who need access to basic care.”
Proposing a rule that would gut the Health Care Rights Law is the latest of many attempts the Trump-Pence Administration has made to undermine and threaten access to healthcare to those who need it most.
A patient’s health should always come first. CenterLink and the 250+ LGBTQ community centers who belong to our network will continue to advocate for patients who are medically underserved and help to ensure that the LGBTQ community has access to health care that is free from discrimination or bias.