The Biden administration’s reversal of this Trump rule comes a gainst a backdrop of laws passed in multiple states banning gender affirming care for trans youth, as well as general concerns over LGBTQ+ rights in the wake of the recent overturn of Roe v Wade. This enabled recipients of federal funds, including insurers, hospitals and individuals working in healthcare, to refuse to provide or cover abortions and gender affirming care. This definition aligned with the Supreme Court’s decision in the influential Bostock case, which resulted in the ruling that LGBTQ+ people are protected from employment discrimination based on their queer identity via the prohibition of discrimination based on sex in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.Ī 2016 rule from the Obama administration defined Section 1557 in the same manner, including sexual orientation, gender identity and pregnancy or seeking abortion as part of ‘sex’ and therefore characteristics which could not prompt discrimination in healthcare.Ī Trump rule from 2020, however, redefined the section to no longer include these characteristics.
![federal register 2017 federal poverty guidelines federal register 2017 federal poverty guidelines](https://www.pdffiller.com/preview/413/46/413046221.png)
The Biden administration originally announced that they would interpret the prohibition of discrimination based on sex as including sexual orientation and gender identity in May 2021. HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said the agency wants to implement the rule as soon as possible, and hopes to finalise it by the end of the year, according to Bloomberg Law. The American public can submit comments on the rule for 60 days after its publication in the Federal Register, after which Health and Human Services may amend and finalise it. More technical aspects of the rule will expand what services these nondiscrimination policies apply to based on receipt of federal funds. In addition to protecting LGBTQ+ people, the rule would prohibit healthcare discrimination based on pregnancy or related conditions, explicitly and importantly including ‘pregnancy termination,’ protecting those seeking abortions. The Biden administration moved forward with its initiative to restore protections from healthcare discrimination for LGBTQ+ Americans with a rule proposed July 25.Ī major aspect of the rule would classify discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity as discrimination based on sex, meaning that Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act protects Americans from discrimination in healthcare based on those characteristics.Ī release from Health and Human Services (HHS) summarised that this element of the rule “ ensures requirements to prevent and combat discrimination are operationalised by entities receiving federal funding by requiring civil rights policies and procedures.”