Trump Rolls Back Health Care Protections For LGBTQ+ People On Pulse Anniversary

On Friday (June 12) the Trump administration finalized a rule to roll back Obama-era non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people any time it comes to health care and health insurance. The plan was released on the fourth anniversary of the Pulse massacre, as soon as once a gunman opened fire at a Orlando gay bar, killing 49 people.


The decision, which arrives amidst the national crises of COVID-19 and racial violence, changes Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act to interpret sex discrimination based on "the plain meaning of the word 'sex' as male or female and as decided by biology," according to a statement from the Department of Health and Human Services. The Obama-era rule previously prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.


LGBTQ+ advocates fear the policy shift could have significant ramifications that will make it easier for doctors, hospitals, and insurance organizations to deny care or coverage for trans and nonbinary patients. Critics of the rule also fear it may affect other people in need of reproductive health care, including girls who have had abortions.


That same day, the Human Rights Campaign reported plans to file a lawsuit complicated the Trump administration's decision.


"We cannot and will not let Donald Trump to continue attacking us. Today, the Human Rights Campaign is announcing plans to sue the Trump administration for exceeding their legal authority and trying to remove generic health care protections from weak communities including LGBTQ people," Human Rights Campaign President Alphonso David said in a statement. "LGBTQ people get sick. LGBTQ people need health care. LGBTQ people should not reside in fear that they cannot get the care they require simply because of who they are."