Trump Plans to Permit Healthcare Discrimination

The Trump administration announced in May that it plans to roll back a part of the Affordable Care Act that protects trans people from discrimination in health care and insurance coverage. Such discrimination will still be illegal, though it may be harder to enforce ones rights.

Numerous courts over two decades have said that federal sex-discrimination laws protect trans people from bias. The Dept. of Health & Human Services (HHS) in 2016 adopted a rule clarifying this policy, making it easier for trans patients to enforce their rights. But several state officials and organizations sued to overturn the rule. The judge (known to be prejudiced) ignored the vast majority of other courts and in 2016 ordered HHS to stop enforcing the rule. The Trump administration then told the judge it would work to roll back the rule. This can take years, and requires public comment on a draft. Meanwhile, trans people must be vigilant to avoid discrimination, because the rule is still in effect.

In April the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case testing whether sex discrimination laws do, indeed, include protections for trans people.