“President Trump has cruelly dismissed the service of transgender Americans in our military and told transgender children across the country that his administration won’t protect them from being bullied or harassed in our schools. His announcement today tells millions of transgender people that they should be denied healthcare simply because of who they are — and that their president values the support of his political base more than he values American lives.”
Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act prohibits discrimination in healthcare and health insurance coverage on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age and disability. The section applies to all health programs and activities that receive federal funding — which includes most hospitals, doctors’ offices and health insurance companies in the nation. In 2016, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services adopted a regulation, which President Trump announced his intention to roll back this morning, explaining that Section 1557‘s prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sex includes anti-transgender discrimination.
###
Equality California is the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ civil rights organization. We bring the voices of LGBTQ people and allies to institutions of power in California and across the United States, striving to create a world that is healthy, just, and fully equal for all LGBTQ people. We advance civil rights and social justice by inspiring, advocating and mobilizing through an inclusive movement that works tirelessly on behalf of those we serve. www.eqca.org
