WASHINGTON, July 3, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Whitman-Walker Institute condemns the
politically motivated ruling from a federal district court judge
that blocks vital nondiscrimination protections for transgender
people across the country. Today, a U.S. district court judge in
Mississippi issued a nationwide
injunction in State of
Tennessee v. Becerra, blocking enforcement of key parts
of Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act. This ruling directly
attacks a regulation issued in April
2024 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
which strengthened nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQI+ people
in health care and health coverage nationwide.
"It's shameful that a federal judge
would side with bigots in seeking to dismantle these
protections."
This ruling was the first of three rulings today in which judges
prioritized politics over people and blocked key non-discrimination
protections in healthcare for transgender people and for millions
of other Americans.
The regulation that was blocked in these three cases
demonstrated a strong commitment to ensuring health care and health
insurance access for all by securing nondiscrimination protections
for some of our nation's most marginalized communities, including
transgender, nonbinary, and intersex people, people with limited
English proficiency, people with disabilities, and people seeking
reproductive health care.
Dr. Kellan Baker, Executive
Director of the Whitman-Walker Institute, says, "It's shameful that
a federal judge would side with bigots in seeking to dismantle
these protections. The Biden-Harris administration correctly took
action to help remove barriers to care and advance health equity
for underserved communities, including LGBTQI+ people. Robust
enforcement of this rule is critical to improve the health and
well-being of LGBTQI+ people across the country. This ruling is
part of a dangerous trend in which politicians deny and disregard
the clear evidence documenting the harms of widespread
discrimination against LGBTQI+ people, particularly transgender
people, in health care and health insurance."
Whitman-Walker Institute, which leverages research, policy, and
education to advance health equity nationwide, is affiliated with
Whitman-Walker Health, the lead plaintiff in a 2020 federal lawsuit
brought to reverse the Trump administration's weakening of Section
1557's nondiscrimination protections for underserved communities,
particularly LGBTQI+ people.
According to the 2022 U.S. Transgender Survey, nearly 50% of
respondents who saw a provider in the last year had at least one
negative health care experience because of their gender
identity.
Twenty-three percent of LGBTQI+ respondents, including 37% of
transgender respondents, reported postponing or avoiding needed
medical care in the past year due to disrespect or discrimination
by providers.
About Whitman-Walker Institute
Whitman-Walker Institute is a Washington, D.C. based organization that
leverages cutting-edge research, policy, and education to advance
health equity at the federal level and in states across the
country. We bring to this work expertise in rigorous research and
health policy analysis, deep relationships with state and federal
policymakers, longstanding partnerships across multiple justice
movements, and the direct service experience of Whitman-Walker
Health, a Federally Qualified Health Center that serves thousands
of diverse patients across the D.C. area and beyond. The Institute
is home to nationally recognized experts in areas of policy such as
LGBTQI+ health equity, care for transgender people, insurance
reform, social determinants of health, HIV prevention and
treatment, and sexual orientation and gender identity data
collection. More info can be found
at: https://www.whitman-walker.org/institute/
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SOURCE Whitman-Walker Institute