Politics

Trump administration wants to reverse Obama-era LGBT protections

Team Trump proposed revoking Obama-era anti-discrimination protections for transgender people in health care on Friday — a move LGBT groups fear will result in many Americans being denied needed medical care.

The Health and Human Services Department released a proposed regulation that in effect says “gender identity” is not protected under federal laws that prohibit sex discrimination in health care.

It’s another part of the administration’s plans to limit or roll back some of the new recognition for LGBT people in areas ranging from the military to housing.

“The actions today are part and parcel of this administration’s efforts to erase LGBTQ people from federal regulations and to undermine nondiscrimination protections across the board,” said Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, a lawyer at Lambda Legal, a civil rights organization for LGBT people.

But the HHS official overseeing the new regulation said transgender patients would continue to be protected by other federal laws that bar discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age and disability.

“Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect,” said Roger Severino, who heads the HHS Office for Civil Rights. “We intend to fully enforce federal laws that prohibit discrimination.”

Asked if the rule opened the door to discrimination against transgender people, Severino responded, “I don’t want to see that happen.”

The administration’s proposed rule reverses the Obama administration, which concluded that the Affordable Care Act’s anti-discrimination section protects transgender people seeking health care.

With Post wires