When the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("ACA"), or commonly called Obamacare, passed in 2010, of hot but limited debate was the potentially expansive nature of Section 1557 of the legislation. Considered to be a broad expansion of non-discrimination protections in health care, Section 1557 “prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability in certain health programs and activities.” Section 1557 is the first federal civil rights law to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex in covered health programs and activities.
Despite citation of enforcement of this provision since 2010, the Obama Administration would wait until September 15, 2016 to issue a Final Rule outlining exactly how Section 1557 should be applied. Of particular note in the 380+ page rule, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services ("HHS") gave guidance on translation service requirements, disability accommodation requirements, quality of care with regard to pregnancy history, and classified transition related care for transgender people as care protected on the basis of sex. HHS would cite certain legal precedent, including the Supreme Court decision in Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins (1989) and subsequent case law pertaining to “sex stereo typing” as it relates to gender identity and expression. In a somewhat surprisingly broad application, HHS’ Final Rule not only stated ability for government enforcement of Section 1557 but the right of private action by aggrieved patients. In short, patients were being extended the opportunity to sue certain private health care and insurance providers for refusing care to transgender people. To say this was a “big deal” would be an understatement. Transgender advocates went WILD with joy and celebration of a major win.
Vast portions of the Final Rule were to go into effect on January 1, 2017. On December 31, 2016, at the behest of five states and a group of Christian identified medical providers (including dentists…I’m not kidding), Judge Reed O’Connor of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued an injunction against implementation of portions of Section 1557 regarding transgender patient care protections and abortion related care. Judge O’Connor has a nasty history of him issuing rulings that marginalize LGBTQ Americans. This case, Franciscan Alliance, Inc. et al v. Burwell, was no different. The injunction prohibited the government from implementing and enforcing the Final Rule. It did not, however, prevent patients from seeking suit should they experience discrimination.HHS would reverse the position of defending the Final Rule after the administrative transitioned over to Donald J. Trump. In July, 2017 HHS submitted a brief seeking a stay while it “reconsiders” the policy, indicating an intention by new HHS leadership to walk back the nature of the protections offered by Section 1557. The stay was granted. It is of important note that HHS’ Office of Civil Rights is now lead by Roger Severino, an appointment widely opposed by equality organizations on the basis of Severino’s well documented and very public statements in support of discrimination against LGBTQ people.
The change has been haunting transgender advocates for almost a year. And here’s why:
- Broadly, prior to the ACA, transgender identity was considered a “pre-existing condition”. The prohibition of refusal of coverage on the basis of a pre-existing condition meant transgender people, for the first time, could not be refused coverage at the application process. Still, transgender people commonly faced notation that plans did not cover transition related care. The Obama Administration's version of the Final Rule explicitly outlined that insurance companies could no longer continue the practice of excluding transition related care, impose burdensome requirements to qualify for coverage through discriminatory plan design, or impose burdensome appeals processes due to automatic denials of care because of a “sex mis-match” in approval systems. While HHS was not prescriptive in telling insurance companies how to address these issues as the most common barriers to coverage transgender people face, the agency was clear: “care delayed is care denied”.
- Another unfortunately common experience transgender people faced and continue to face is “transgender broken arm syndrome”, a situation where a transgender person seeks routine medical care unrelated to their transition care but receives less than standard quality of care due to bias of providers. A real-life example I encountered in my advocacy includes a transgender woman seeking emergency care for trouble breathing. The patient was asked about her current medication use, including an estrogen, wherein she disclosed her identity as transgender. She was given two breathing treatments and sent home. The patient was not given a chest x-ray or other diagnostics to determine appropriate care. The patient returned the emergency room a few days later with pneumonia, a diagnosis she only received after having to insist on a chest x-ray. The Final Rule under the Obama Administration considered this type of treatment, no matter the setting, to be discriminatory in nature and a violation of the protections afforded under Section 1557.
- According to the 2015 US Trans Survey, a work product from the National Center for Transgender Equality, 25% of transgender people experienced being denied routine or transition related care by their insurance provider, more than half of those seeking coverage for transition-related surgery were denied, and 25% of those seeking coverage for hormone replacement therapy were denied. The same survey also found that 33% of respondents who saw a healthcare provider experienced refusal of care, being verbally, physically, or sexually assaulted, or having to teach their providers about transgender people in order to receive appropriate care. Because these experiences are known among this community, 23% of respondents did not see a medical provider when the needed to out of fear of being mistreated. These findings are particularly worse for transgender people of color. Compounding fears of discrimination, potential refusal of coverage, and discrimination in employment, 23% of transgender people did not seek care when they needed it because they could not afford care.
- In 2011, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention ("CDC") revised HIV surveillance to include transgender people as a target population. In 2017, the CDC acknowledged transgender people as underserved and interventions for this community as understudied. The 2015 US Trans Survey found a self-reported rate of HIV among transgender populations of 1.6%, or FIVE TIMES that of the general population, with a self-reporting rate of 19% among Black transgender women.
- In October 2017, HHS issued a new Conscience Rule, specifically targeting abortions, assisted suicide, and transition-related care. While not even daring to mention the word “transgender”, the agency couched the discriminatory Final Rule under the language of “sterilization”. Transgender advocates rightly fear the impact of codifying sanctioned discrimination in health care under the current administration. Rolling back the reach of Section 1557 as a protective provision would open the flood gates of claims of “religious liberty” to deny care and coverage to transgender people.
From community based agencies to State AIDS Drug Assistance Programs, identifying and educating legislators to advocating for expansive formularies, covering transition related HRT in both Ryan White Part A and B (ADAPs), the power of partnered advocacy cannot be understated. We cannot “get to zero” without addressing the needs of transgender people and we cannot address those needs without strong protections, combating systemic discrimination against transgender people.
Disclaimer: Guest blogs do not necessarily reflect the views of the ADAP Advocacy Association, but rather they provide a neutral platform whereby the author serves to promote open, honest discussion about public health-related issues and updates.
2 comments:
What suggestions, if any, can citizens take action or make this voices heard about issues like this? I find it hard to understand how the President, with all the pressing issues he faces, has time to uncover these tidbits of legislation to begin with. I suspect that it bubbled up from some prejudiced platform. Being a business man, I think the President will act in the best interest of all Americans to realize we have to do everything we can to end this epidemic. The vision statement to end aids has to be all inclusive. If the theory that HIV started in the United States by only one person who entered the US in 1969 is true, than it clearly shows we can leave no one behind in our efforts for prevention and care.
From HealthHIV's National Coalition for LGBT Health:
"The Department of Health and Human Services may re-interpret previous ACA regulations to exclude LGBT patients from certain discrimination protections. The statute, Section 1557, forbids medical providers and insurance companies from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability. Under the Obama administration, HHS finalized a rule in 2016 interpreting sex discrimination to include transgender individuals. However, the current administration has signaled they are willing to rollback these critical protections. If the HHS regulation is reinterpreted, it could have far-reaching implications for LGBTQ health, including denial of health services. This is why the Coalition for LGBT Health needs your help.
The Coalition is looking for providers who are interested in sharing their perspective on the importance of culturally competent care for the LGBT community and how culturally competent care helps to build trust between you and your LGBT patients. Once this new rule is announced, the Coalition is looking for providers who are interested in writing an op-ed or speaking to media about the importance of culturally competent care for LGBT patients. To share your perspective or if you have any additional questions, please contact Michael Beyer at beyer@healthlgbt.org."
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