US Government Just Ruled Obamacare Providers Can't Discriminate Against Transgender People
Friday has been a day of victory for transgender rights in America.
It began with the Obama administration declaring students in public schools must be allowed to use the bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity and was swiftly followed by a ruling that healthcare providers funded under the Affordable Care Act are not allowed to discriminate against transgender patients.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued their final ruling, stating that such health care providers must provide coverage — including medical services related to gender reassignment — to transgender individuals.
The news is a groundbreaking development for civil rights, which have historically been omitted from health care regulation in the country.
The administration cited Title IX, an education amendment "prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any federally funded education program or activity," in its school bathroom directive, and applied similar non-discrimination principles to its new rule for federally funded health care providers.
