HHS’ new religious freedom office could imperil care for LGBT patients
A new HHS office set up to support providers who refuse to perform services that are against their religious beliefs is causing concerns among civil rights groups and some in the healthcare industry.
Dr. Lealah Pollock, a family physician in California, says she fears for the well-being of LGBT patients who might forgo seeing a provider they think might discriminate against them. “Part of professional obligation is to provide care to the patient in front of us regardless of what our moral beliefs or biases may be,” Pollock said. “If you open the door to allow providers to deny care based on their perceptions of a person’s moral or religious choices, that puts our patients’ lives and healthcare at risk.”
Last week, HHS announced the creation of the Conscience and Religious Freedom Division within its Office for Civil Rights. The office will protect doctors, nurses and other clinicians who refuse to perform abortions and other medical procedures such as sex-reassignment surgery or fertility treatments for lesbian couples.
Some legal experts echoed religious organizations that said the Trump administration was simply correcting what was the Obama administration’s favoring of patients’ rights at the expense of the religious rights of healthcare professionals.
A day after setting up the religious freedom office, HHS proposed a sweeping new rule that details when Medicare and Medicaid providers can refuse care because it conflicts with their religious or moral beliefs.
The rule, released Friday, largely reiterated the current laws and regulations on the books that protect a medical provider’s rights to refuse to perform certain procedures that conflict with their faith or morals. The CMS also issued a notice Friday that revoked an Obama-era Medicaid guidance that banned states from withholding funds from providers that perform abortions.
“Ensuring that these providers can practice medicine and serve their communities consistent with their faith will ensure that individuals and organizations can continue to provide high-quality care for those living in poverty and most vulnerable,” said Anthony Tersigni, CEO of Ascension.
However research shows people who identify as LGBT face significant healthcare disparities due to stigma and lack of provider aware- ness and sensitivity.
That’s especially troubling since that community is at a higher risk for substance use, sexually transmitted diseases, advanced cancers, isolation, rejection, anxiety, depression and suicide than the general population.
“This is the latest example of this administration’s efforts to block women, transgender people and other marginalized communities from accessing healthcare,” said Dana Singiser, vice president of public policy and government relations at Planned Parenthood.
The federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act prevents clinicians and hospitals from turning people away if they’re in need of emergency care. But providers can refuse patients as long as they don’t discriminate against them based on race, religion or gender.
Aside from Ascension, none of the other major religiously affiliated health systems endorsed or even commented on the HHS announcement. The Catholic Health Association, which previously has raised concerns about the implications of HHS rules on faith-based providers, only said it needed to learn more about the new office.
CEO Sister Carol Keehan worried how faith-based hospitals might now be perceived. “While there are certain procedures we do not do in our hospitals, there is no one who is not welcome for the care that we do provide,” Keehan said in a statement.
But HHS officials said they’ve received 34 complaints since President Donald Trump took office. The Obama administration reported 10 such complaints in eight years.
“For too long healthcare practitioners have been bullied or discriminated against because of their religious beliefs and moral convictions leading many of them to wonder if they have a future in our healthcare system,” Eric
● Hargan, acting HHS secretary, said.
“No patient should have to fear that their very identity could prevent them from getting the healthcare they need.” Dana Singiser
Vice president of public policy and government relations Planned Parenthood