Biden restores anti-bias med regs for trans people

The Biden administration moved Monday to restore anti-discrimination protections for gay and transgender people in health care, effectively reversing former President Trump’s effort to roll back the edicts.

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said that federal law barring sex discrimination also protects LGBTQ people from being treated differently than straight people.

“Fear of discrimination can lead individuals to forgo care, which can have serious negative health consequences,” Becerra (inset) said in a statement. “Everyone — including LGBTQ people — should be able to access health care, free from discrimination or interference, period.”

The move reverses a controversial move by the Trump administration to define “sex” narrowly as biological gender assigned at birth, which effectively excluded transgender people from the law’s protection.

Becerra said the Biden administration policy will bring federal health policy line with a landmark Supreme Court decision last year in a workplace discrimination case, which established that federal laws against sex discrimination on the job also protect gay and transgender people.

Trump administration officials argued that health care discrimination was a separate issue from the employment case.

Monday’s action means that the HHS Office for Civil Rights will again investigate complaints of sex discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Hospitals, clinics and other medical providers can face government sanctions for violations of the law.

Advocates for LGBTQ rights welcomed the move, but Erin Uritus of Out & Equal Workplace Advocates called on Congress to pass legislation to make the protections permanent.

“Every American deserves access to health care,” Uritus said. “It was especially cruel for President Trump to roll back health protections for LGBTQ individuals one year ago in the midst of a pandemic.”