U.S.
government to extend healthcare nondiscrimination law to
transgender people
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[September 04, 2015]
By Caroline Humer
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. government
said on Thursday it will extend its healthcare nondiscrimination law to
transgender individuals and require health insurers and medical
providers to treat all patients equally, regardless of sex.
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The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, was passed in 2010
and included anti-discrimination provisions to prevent insurers from
charging customers more or denying coverage based on age or sex.
That law left some areas open to interpretation and thousands of
consumers complain each year about being discriminated against, the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said on Thursday.
An academic study earlier this year found that about 42 percent of
female-to-male transgender adults reported verbal harassment,
physical assault or denial of equal treatment in a doctor's office
or hospital.
The proposed rule says that individuals cannot be denied care or
coverage based on sex, or gender identity, and that individuals must
be treated consistent with their gender identity. Providers cannot
deny or limit care based on gender and insurers cannot have policies
prohibiting gender transition health services that may be offered
for other reasons, such as a hysterectomy.
The National Center for Transgender Equality said it had been
advocating for the policy since 2010.
"The medical and scientific consensus for years has been that
transition-related care is medically necessary and should be covered
by insurance,” Executive Director Mara Keisling said in a statement.
The move is that latest step in President Barack Obama's public
support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights. Last
month, the White House hired its first openly transgender staff
member.
The rule also extends protection to provide communication assistance
for individuals with limited English or with disabilities like
hearing loss.
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The proposed rule applies to doctors who participate in government
healthcare programs like Medicare or Medicaid and to insurers who
provide these and other government plans, such as those sold on the
individual health insurance exchange created by Obamacare.
Jocelyn Samuels, director of the health department's Office for
Civil Rights, said during a conference call that complaints about
discrimination ranged from a hospital denying a transgender
individual the appropriate hospital room to inadequate language
services for people who do not speak English.
"We have ample evidence that there continues to be a persistent
problem with discrimination in the healthcare industry," Samuels
said.
The rule has been in the works for two years and is now open to
industry comment.
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