They came for transgender students, they came for transgender troops. Now, the Trump administration is coming for transgender people’s health care.
Just now, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) proposed a new regulation that will falsely tell doctors, hospitals, and insurance companies that is is perfectly fine to turn away transgender people. The proposed regulation tells providers and insurers to ignore the Health Care Rights Law, a part of the Affordable Care Act that bans gender discrimination.
For years, federal courts have ruled this law protects transgender patients. Now, the Trump-Pence administration is trying to convince doctors and insurance companies the opposite.
We need to stop the administration in its tracks. To do that, we need your help. Make your voice heard. Tell the Trump-Pence administration about a time when you or a loved one faced discrimination in health care, and/or explain why it’s important for transgender people to access health care without discrimination.
For most transgender people, ignorance and prejudice in health care is a part of our daily lives. One in three trans people has been harassed, humiliated, or turned away by a provider, and one in four have declined to see a doctor out of fear of mistreatment. Such mistreatment can be an insurmountable hurdle for transgender people of color,those with low incomes, and others who already face significant barriers to obtaining life-saving health care.
No one should be turned away by a doctor because of who they are or forced to live in fear of seeing a doctor when they need it most. NCTE won’t stop fighting until all patients are treated with respect and dignity. We need you to tell your story.
Thank you for your support in the fight for trans equality.
If you need more support, call the Trans Lifeline at 877-565-8860 from 9am-3pm Central Time (volunteers are often available outside this time, too).
I heard this today on NPR and I came home and started calling all my doctors, orthopedic, eye doctor, dentist, GYN, primary care physician, dermatologist, audiologist,etc. I asked if they would refuse treatment to a person based on race, religion, color, country of origin or sexual orientation. I told them that I need to know because if they do, I will not support their practice. It is a way to find out and a way to let doctors know that if they discriminate I will not be their patient. We need to take a stand loud and clear.