Medical Discrimination Protections Stripped from Trans-gendered Individuals

[Shiranu]

https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/trump-administration-issues-rule-curtail-health-protections-transgender-people-n1230921?cid=ed_npd_bn_fb_bn

The Trump administration on Friday finalized its rollback of protections against gender identity discrimination in health care regulated by the Affordable Care Act.The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement it would recognize "sex discrimination according to the plain meaning of the word 'sex' as male or female and as determined by biology."

The move means insurance policies and health care regulated under the Obama-era Affordable Care Act can deny services to transgender people. HHS said it is reverting to a time when the government "declined to recognize sexual orientation as a protected category under the ACA."

A number of organizations strongly criticized the move, with the Human Rights Campaign vowing to sue in an attempt to block the new rule.

Because during the middle of a pandemic, one of America's number one priorities needs to be that trans-gendered individuals are not protected from discrimination by hospitals and insurance companies.

Edit: Also, according to the HHS's remark, wouldn't that also mean that LGB clients would also be denied protections?

[SGOS]

I'm not sure what that means either from your synopsis, or from the article itself.  Deny all healthcare?  I don't think that would fly.  Deny abortions for only transgender females?  Legal or not, it sounds like vengeance rather than health care.  No doubt it would be popular among Trump supporters.  It may be some ploy just to chip away at ACA. Or maybe it's just Trump and Pence finding another way to discriminate against minorities. 

[Shiranu]

I'm not sure what that means either from your synopsis, or from the article itself.  Deny all healthcare?  I don't think that would fly.  Deny abortions for only transgender females?  Legal or not, it sounds like vengeance rather than health care.  No doubt it would be popular among Trump supporters.  It may be some ploy just to chip away at ACA. Or maybe it's just Trump and Pence finding another way to discriminate against minorities. 

From what I've seen, it means that if a doctor or insurance company feels "uncomfortable" servicing someone who is trangendered, particularly if it's against their religious beliefs, they can deny service or otherwise discriminate against them.

[Draconic Aiur]

Trump and his Republican douches are already on a path to attack abortion, gays, and women's right so why not?

[drunkenshoe]

Considering the climate and the timing, it is like a call for discrimination.

[GSOgymrat]

Not the same issue but still pleasant and surprising news!

Supreme Court rules existing civil rights law protects LGBTQ workers

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that existing federal law forbids job discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and transgender status, a major victory for advocates of gay rights — and a surprising one from an increasingly conservative court.

In decisions on two separate cases, the court said Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which makes it illegal for employers to discriminate because of a person's sex, among other factors, also covers sexual orientation and transgender status. It upheld rulings from lower courts that said discrimination based on those factors was a form of sex discrimination.

Across the nation, 21 states have their own laws prohibiting job discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Seven more provide that protection only to public employees. Those laws remain in force, but Monday's ruling means federal law now provides similar protection for LGBT employees in the rest of the country.

[trdsf]

Not the same issue but still pleasant and surprising news!

Supreme Court rules existing civil rights law protects LGBTQ workers

I skimmed the opinion (and the dissents) -- it's not a decision of half-measures, and uses some of the same sweeping language Kennedy did in Obergefell.  It was authored by Gorsuch (!) and joined by Roberts, Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor and Kagan.

Kavanaugh wrote a cowardly dissent the upshot of which was 'yeah, discrimination against LGBTQ+ people is wrong, but Title VII of the Civil Rights Act doesn't use those exact words, and who are we to interpret the laws, we're just the Supreme Court, so there's your loophole so you can keep on being homophobic'.

Alito wrote a rambling mess of a dissent, complete with a 52-page set of appendices (the majority opinion in total only ran 33 pages), that more or less wound down to "You want to let anyone use any bathroom they want!" -- and cementing his position as this court's Scalia, except with neither the wit nor the writing ability.  So of course Thomas joined it.