News

Trump is Currently Waging a Lawsuit to Dismantle the Entire Affordable Care Act, Strip Coverage from Millions of Americans

Washington, DC — Today, Trump is set to deliver a speech on his administration’s new HRA rule, which encourages more people to buy junk insurance plans that do not cover protections for many pre-existing conditions. On top of that, his Rose Garden speech this afternoon will likely fail to address the rule’s underlying hypocrisy: that his Texas lawsuit would dismantle the entire Affordable Care Act, completely nullifying this rule if successful. In response to this announcement, Protect Our Care executive director Brad Woodhouse released the following statement:  

“It’s the height of hypocrisy that Trump is in court to rip health care away from millions of Americans while also proposing a rule that in the most charitable sense would be using cups of water to douse the five alarm fire that he created. Not only does this new HRA rule encourage more people to enroll in junk insurance plans that don’t offer protections for pre-existing conditions, but it would be completely nullified by Trump’s Texas lawsuit to destroy our health care system. Time and again, Trump has made clear he’s dead-set on destroying America’s health care – letting drug companies run wild and ripping millions off their insurance. Today’s announcement is just another empty display of hypocrisy as he marches onward in his war on America’s health care.

“For patients with pre-existing conditions, Trump’s health care plans put them at risk either way. Today, he’s pushing policies which let insurance companies dupe patients into buying junk plans that won’t cover care for pre-existing conditions for people with asthma, diabetes and cancer. Next month, he’s going to court to try to overturn health care and strike down the protections for pre-existing conditions in all the remaining plans. Donald Trump has engaged a relentless war on American health care which has no end in sight.”

Donald Trump is helping health insurance companies sell junk plans that scam Americans into higher costs, unpaid bills and plans that don’t cover prescription drug costs or people with pre-existing conditions.

Democrats are trying to stop him. Republicans in Congress are helping him do it.

LAST NIGHT

The House adopted a ban on funding Trump’s expanded junk health insurance plans by 236-188 votes including unanimous support of House Democrats. [Roll Call]

THIS MORNING

Florida Company Sued Over Sales of Skimpy Health Plans [New York Times, 6/13/19]

• “They say they believed they were purchasing Affordable Care Act plans that include coverage guarantees. But they were sold much less comprehensive coverage that left them vulnerable to tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid medical bills, according to the lawsuit.”
• “Their complaints underscore problems with some types of cheaper health insurance alternatives that the Trump administration has expanded.”
• They are seeking class-action status, estimating that as many as 500,000 people may have bought these policies.

WHO COULD HAVE SEEN IT COMING?

Trump’s New Obamacare Sabotage Could Really Stick It To Consumers [HuffPost, 8/7/18]

Washington, DC — Today, Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) along with Senate Democrats introduced the Affordable Medications Act, which would hold the drug companies accountable and work to lower the price of prescription drugs for both patients and taxpayers. Leslie Dach, chair of Protect Our Care, issued the following statement in response:

“Senator Smith and her Democratic colleagues are leading the fight to lower drug prices and hold drug companies accountable with the introduction of the Affordable Medications Act. As drug prices continue to skyrocket and families cut their pills or go without their medications, Republicans gave big drug companies even more tax breaks. Meanwhile, Democrats are championing a plan that holds drug companies accountable and uses Medicare’s buying power to negotiate lower prices. Republican’s refuse to support the most powerful tool the government has to help people because they care more about the drug companies than everyday Americans. In a time when patients across the country are feeling the pain of high prescription drug costs and constant GOP sabotage, Senate Democrats are taking a meaningful step to lower prices for millions of Americans.”

Washington, DC — President Trump is traveling to West Des Moines, Iowa this evening for a Republican Party fundraiser, all while his administration and GOP allies in Congress, like Senator Joni Ernst, work to strip away health care from millions of Americans through the Texas lawsuit and repeated acts of health care sabotage. If the Trump-Texas lawsuit is successful, it will raise premiums, end protections for people with pre-existing conditions, put insurance companies back in charge, and force Iowa seniors to pay more for prescription drugs. Brad Woodhouse, executive director of Protect Our Care, issued the following statement in response:

“President Trump’s Texas lawsuit would decimate the health care of tens of thousands of Iowans who have gained coverage through Medicaid expansion, and once again put people with pre-existing conditions at risk. The president and his Republican allies like Joni Ernst have worked non-stop to undermine and sabotage health care, and instead of hobnobbing at fundraisers, President Trump and Senator Ernst should explain why they want to take away health care from hardworking Iowa families. Access to quality, affordable health care is a top priority for Iowans and they won’t be fooled by President Trump, Senator Ernst, and the GOP’s ongoing repeal and sabotage agenda.”

Background:

If Trump Gets His Way With His Lawsuit, 187,000 Iowans Would Lose Their Coverage

• 187,000 Iowans could lose coverage. According to the Urban Institute, 187,000 Iowans would lose coverage by repealing the Affordable Care Act, leading to a 126 percent increase in the uninsured rate.
• 24,000 Iowa young adults with their parents’ coverage could lose care. Because of the Affordable Care Act, millions of young adults are able to stay on their parents’ care until age 26.
• 1,530,502 Iowans Could Once Again Have To Pay For Preventive Care. Because of the ACA, health plans must cover preventive services — like flu shots, cancer screenings, contraception, and mammograms – at no cost to consumers. This includes nearly 1,530,502 Iowans, most of whom have employer coverage.
• 39,039 Iowans in the Marketplaces Would Pay More for Coverage. If the Trump-GOP lawsuit is successful, consumers would no longer have access to tax credits that help them pay their marketplace premiums, meaning roughly nine million people who receive these tax credits to pay for coverage will have to pay more, including 39,039 in Iowa.
• 51,596 Iowa Seniors Could Have to Pay More for Prescription Drugs. If the Trump-GOP lawsuit is successful, seniors could have to pay more for prescription drugs because the Medicare “donut” hole would be reopened. From 2010 to 2016, “More than 11.8 million Medicare beneficiaries have received discounts over $26.8 billion on prescription drugs – an average of $2,272 per beneficiary,” according to a January 2017 CMS report. In Iowa, 51,596 seniors each saved an average of $1,058.

 

Five Ways Sen. Ernst Has Propped Up The Trump Administration’s Assault On Health Care

1. 2014: Ernst Campaigned For The Senate With An Ad Where She “Unloads” On Obamacare By Shooting It With A Handgun.  “Republican U.S. Senate candidate Joni Ernst of Iowa has released a new TV ad vowing to ‘unload’ on Obamacare, in which she takes target practice at a shooting range with a handgun. The narrator of the ad says Ernst, a state senator and lieutenant colonel in the Iowa Army National Guard, ‘carries more than just lipstick in her purse.’ The commercial portrays her riding a motorcycle to a shooting range where she takes target practice. ‘Joni Ernst will take aim at wasteful spending. And once she sets her sights on Obamacare, Joni’s gonna unload,’ the narrator continues. Next, Ernst starts firing a handgun at a target. ‘Oh, and one more thing,’ adds the narrator as the dispersal of her shots on the target come into view. ‘Joni doesn’t miss much.’” [Washington Post, 5/4/14]
2. Ernst Voted For The Tax Bill Which Forms The Basis For The Trump-Republican Lawsuit.  Ernst was a key vote for the Republican tax bill, which repealed a key provision of the Affordable Care Act that required most people to have health coverage and which is the basis of the Trump-Republican lawsuit seeking to overturn the Affordable Care Act. Even as the lawsuit makes its way through the federal court system, Ernst refuses to acknowledge the threat it poses to Americans’ health care. In response to the suit, Ernst cosponsored legislation that he claimed would protect Americans with pre-existing conditions if the ACA were struck down, but in reality would not bar insurers from denying coverage for individual medical conditions, meaning a cancer patient might be able to buy a health plan, but not one that covered treatment for cancer.  Leading health care experts called the coverage offered by Tillis’s bill a “mirage” and “insultingly stupid.”
3. Ernst  Voted To Confirm The Attorney General Leading The DOJ Assault On The ACA. Ernst voted to confirm Attorney General Bill Barr.  Six weeks after Barr’s confirmation he led the DOJ to back a full invalidation of the Affordable Care Act in Texas v. Azar, a sharp escalation of the Trump administration’s ongoing war on the law.  
4. Ernst Refused To Support Authorizing The Senate Legal Counsel To Intervene In The Trump-Republican Lawsuit And Defend The ACA. Ernst refused to sponsor a resolution (S. Res. 581), which would authorize Senate legal counsel to defend the Affordable Care Act against attack in Texas v. Azar.
5. Ernst Voted To Confirm Brett Kavanaugh — A Potential Pivotal Vote To Overturn The ACA.  Ernst was a key vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh.  Kavanaugh authored rulings expressing skepticism about the Affordable Care Act and could be the pivotal vote to overturn the law if Texas v. Azar were to reach the Supreme Court.  

Speakers on Today’s Call Discussed New Report From Protect Our Care on the Vital Importance of Expanding Medicaid and stopping President Trump’s Sabotage of the Program

Listen to the full call here

Washington, DC –  U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Aging and the Subcommittee on Children and Families of the Senate HELP Committee, along with former CMS Administrator Andy Slavitt, Protect Our Care and Pennsylvania health care advocates held a press call today to discuss the importance of Medicaid and a new report from Protect Our Care on the overwhelming benefits of Medicaid expansion. The report, “Let’s Expand On That: Medicaid Expansion Has Made America Healthier But GOP Sabotage Threatens Those Gains,” released today by Protect Our Care, makes clear the critical importance of expanding Medicaid and the consequences that the Trump administration’s war on Medicaid will have for millions of people.

“This administration’s health care agenda is a slap in the face to Pennsylvania families and threatens gains we’ve made through Medicaid expansion,” said Senator Casey. “This report makes clear what this administration is doing to undermine Medicaid expansion and how the program is succeeding in spite of that. We fought them before, and we will continue to fight them to protect the Medicaid program and the millions of people whose health care depends on it, including those in rural communities in Pennsylvania and across America.”

“It’s a fact that Medicaid has helped millions of Americans, and the Trump Administration’s sabotage of the program puts every single one of them at risk,” said former CMS Administrator Andy Slavitt. “In states that chose to expand Medicaid, residents have improved access to cancer treatment, maternal care, have lower mortality rates, and overall better care than those without Medicaid expansion. This should not be a partisan issue and it’s time for Republicans to stop playing political games with people’s lives and stop attacking this life-saving program.”

“Republicans’ relentless attacks on Medicaid have – and will continue to have – real consequences for millions of Americans who rely on the program,” said Protect Our Care executive director Brad Woodhouse. “Even after their repeal and sabotage agenda fueled a Democratic majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, Republicans continue to do all they can to undermine Americans’ access to Medicaid, and our entire health care system.”  

“My 10-year-old daughter Chessie was diagnosed with a developmental language disorder and autism at 3-years-old. She needs Medicaid. Without it, Chessie would fall through the cracks in society,” said Casey Dye from Monroeville PA. “ We’re afraid if they get rid of Medicaid expansion. It scares me to death. We are very thankful that PA recognizes that she has a disability. And they recognize that if they give her the resources now when she’s young, she would be a productive member of society later and help her community.”

“Despite millions of lives being on the line, including my own, the Trump administration continues to wreak havoc on Medicaid,” said Adrianne Gunter from Philadelphia, PA. “When I came down with multiple sclerosis, I couldn’t afford insurance and couldn’t gain employment due to my illness. But under Medicaid expansion, I was able to receive coverage and begin the treatments that have pushed some of my MS symptoms into remission, and allowed me to make plans for my future again.”

Listen to the full call here

 

New Report From Protect Our Care Highlights Overwhelming Benefits of Medicaid Expansion and the Consequences of GOP Sabotage to the Program

View the report HERE

Washington, DC – Protect Our Care is releasing a new report today detailing the benefits of Medicaid expansion in communities across America. From improving maternal health, reducing racial disparities in coverage, expanding access to treatment for opioid use disorder, and improving disease-specific diagnosis and treatment, Medicaid expansion has improved and expanded coverage for millions of Americans. The report also makes abundantly clear that the gains made under expanded Medicaid would be erased by the Republican sabotage agenda. Through the courts, Congress and legislatures across the country the Trump administration and its Republican allies will stop at nothing to undermine and sabotage American’s health care and gut Medicaid at every turn. Protect Our Care executive director Brad Woodhouse issued the following statement about the report:

“It’s undeniable that Medicaid expansion has enabled more Americans to receive coverage and improved access to vital health care services in communities across the country. Republicans who continue to wage a war against Medicaid do so at their own political peril, and as the program continues to improve the lives of millions, the GOP’s relentless sabotage efforts place even more Americans at risk of losing coverage – putting their health and even their lives at risk.”

Key passage from the report: As study after study has shown, expanding Medicaid means better health care for millions of people. It is one of the most successful components of an increasingly popular Affordable Care Act. Yet, Republicans continue their unwavering zeal to rip these benefits away. We have a choice: we can continue to find ways to expand and improve coverage and lower costs, or we can continue the Republican war on health care that threatens these benefits. For better health care, the choice is clear.

View the full report: Let’s Expand On That: Medicaid Expansion Has Made America Healthier But GOP Sabotage Threatens Those Gains

Washington, DC — One year ago today, Trump sent lawyers to back a lawsuit that would overturn our health care laws – striking down protections for people with pre-existing conditions. After failing repeatedly to overturn the Affordable Care Act in Congress, Trump went to the courts to try and dismantle it. If Trump’s Texas lawsuit is successful, health insurance companies could deny cover to 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions like asthma, heart disease and cancer. In response, Protect Our Care chair Leslie Dach issued the following statement:

“Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are waging a relentless war on health care, starting with their war against people with pre-existing conditions. Even after losing their majority in the 2018 midterm elections, Republicans have continued their sabotage agenda, putting the health care of virtually all Americans at risk. Poll after poll shows that health care continues to be the number one issue on voters’ minds, and there is no doubt Trump and Republicans will pay a heavy price for their ongoing sabotage at the ballot box again in 2020.”

BACKGROUND:

If the Affordable Care Act is struck down:

• GONE: Protections for 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions. The uninsured rate will increase by 65 percent.
• GONE: Medicaid expansion, which covers 17 million people.
• GONE: Nearly 12 million seniors will have to pay more for prescription drugs because the Medicare ‘donut hole’ will be reopened.
• GONE: 2.3 million adult children will no longer be able to stay on their parents’ insurance.
• GONE: Insurance companies will be able to charge women 50 percent more than men.
• GONE: Financial assistance that helps 9 million people purchase health care in the marketplace.
• GONE: Key support for rural hospitals. As Americans lose coverage, already struggling hospitals will be hit even harder as their costs increase.
• GONE: Ban on insurance companies having lifetime caps on coverage.
• GONE: Requirements that insurance companies cover prescription drugs and maternity care.

 

 

 

Washington, DC – Today, the Office of Management and Budget announced that the Trump administration’s plan to overhaul state Medicaid programs through block grants is officially under review. Protect Our Care executive director Brad Woodhouse issued the following in response:

“After repeatedly being rejected by Congress, the Trump administration is now trying to push states to implement so-called block grants in a blatant attempt to avoid scrutiny in order to sabotage Medicaid. Congress has shut down prior proposals to slash Medicaid through so-called block grants because of the harm it would inflict on the health of so many Americans who rely on it. But since taking office, President Trump has been on a crusade to sabotage Americans’ health care and this attack on Medicaid is just the latest battle in this administration’s war on American health care.”    

BACKGROUND:

Joan Alker, Executive Director Of Georgetown University’s Center For Children And Families: Block-Granting Medicaid “Failed Through Legislation So They Are Trying Through The Administration.” “‘It’s clear that block-granting Medicaid is the Holy Grail,’ said Joan Alker, executive director of Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families. ‘It failed through legislation so they are trying through the administration.’” [Wall Street Journal, 3/15/19]

Center On Budget And Policy Priorities: Medicaid Block Grant Would Slash Federal Funding, Shift Costs To States, And Leave Millions More Uninsured. “To compensate for the federal Medicaid funding cuts a block grant would institute, states would either have to contribute much more of their own funding or, as is far more likely, use the greater flexibility the block grant would give them to make draconian cuts to eligibility, benefits, and provider payments.  For example, Speaker Ryan’s ‘Better Way’ health plan would give states the choice of a block grant or a Medicaid per capita cap; both would appear to enable states to make sizeable cuts directly affecting beneficiaries that states can’t make now. This could include using waiting lists or capping enrollment; under current law, all eligible individuals who apply for Medicaid must be allowed to enroll.” [Center On Budget And Policy Priorities, 11/30/16]

Washington, DC — Following the news that Manny Sethi, a vocal supporter of repealing the entire Affordable Care Act, entered the Tennessee GOP Senate primary today, Protect Our Care chair Leslie Dach released the following statement:

“The voters have shown time and time again that running on an agenda of repealing and sabotaging health care is a political death wish, but Manny Sethi apparently didn’t get the memo when he entered the Tennessee GOP Senate primary today. Sethi’s brazen support for sabotaging our health care system, raising costs, and taking away people’s health care is as reckless as it is unpopular — especially for the millions of Tennesseans with pre-existing conditions.”

BACKGROUND:

If Sethi Gets His Way, 168,000 Tennesseans Would Lose Their Coverage

• 168,000 Tennesseans could lose coverage. According to the Urban Institute, 168,000 Tennesseans would lose coverage by repealing the Affordable Care Act, leading to a 23 percent increase in the uninsured rate.
• 47,000 Tennessee young adults with their parents’ coverage could lose care. Because of the Affordable Care Act, millions of young adults are able to stay on their parents’ care until age 26.

If Sethti Gets His Way, Insurance Companies Would Be Put Back In Charge, Ending Protections For The 130 Million People Nationwide With A Pre-Existing Condition

• According to a recent analysis by the Center for American Progress, roughly half of nonelderly Americans, or as many as 130 million people, have a pre-existing condition. This includes:
  • 44 million people who have high blood pressure
  • 45 million people who have behavioral health disorders
  • 44 million people who have high cholesterol
  • 34 million people who have asthma and chronic lung disease
  • 34 million people who have osteoarthritis and other joint disorders
• 2,718,800 Tennesseans have a pre-existing condition, including 355,200 Tennessee children, 1,382,000 Tennessee women, and 630,100 Tennesseans between ages 55 and 64.

If Sethi Gets His Way, Insurance Companies Would Have The Power To Charge You More, While Their Profits Soar

 

• 2,745,436 Tennesseans Could Once Again Have To Pay For Preventive Care. Because of the ACA, health plans must cover preventive services — like flu shots, cancer screenings, contraception, and mammograms – at no cost to consumers. This includes nearly 2,745,436 Tennesseans, most of whom have employer coverage.
• Insurance Companies Could Charge Premium Surcharges in the Six Figures. If the Trump-GOP lawsuit is successful, insurance companies would be able to charge people more because of a pre-existing condition. The health repeal bill the House passed in 2017 had a similar provision, and an analysis by the Center for American Progress found that insurers could charge up to $4,270 more for asthma, $17,060 more for pregnancy, $26,180 more for rheumatoid arthritis and $140,510 more for metastatic cancer.
• Women Could Be Charged More Than Men for the Same Coverage. Prior to the ACA, women were often charged premiums on the nongroup market of up to 50 percent higher than they charged men for the same coverage.
• People Over the Age of 50 Could Face a $4,000 “Age Tax,” Including $5,404 in Tennessee. Because Judge O’Connor sided with Republican lawmakers, insurance companies would be able to charge people over 50 more than younger people. The Affordable Care Act limited the amount older people could be charged to three times more than younger people. If insurers were to charge five times more, as was proposed in the Republican repeal bills, that would add an average “age tax” of $4,124 for a 60-year-old in the individual market, including $5,404 in Tennessee, according to the AARP.
• 181,218 Tennesseans in the Marketplaces Would Pay More for Coverage. If the Trump-GOP lawsuit is successful, consumers would no longer have access to tax credits that help them pay their marketplace premiums, meaning roughly nine million people who receive these tax credits to pay for coverage will have to pay more, including 181,218 in Tennessee.
• 108,136 Tennessee Seniors Could Have to Pay More for Prescription Drugs. If the Trump-GOP lawsuit is successful, seniors could have to pay more for prescription drugs because the Medicare “donut” hole would be reopened. From 2010 to 2016, “More than 11.8 million Medicare beneficiaries have received discounts over $26.8 billion on prescription drugs – an average of $2,272 per beneficiary,” according to a January 2017 CMS report. In Tennessee, 108,136 seniors each saved an average of $1,034.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If Sethi Gets His Way, Insurance Companies Would Have the Power to Limit the Care You Get, Even If You Have Insurance Through Your Employer

• Insurance Companies Do Not Have to Provide the Coverage You Need. The Affordable Care Act made comprehensive coverage more available by requiring insurance companies to include “essential health benefits” in their plans, such as maternity care, hospitalization, substance abuse care and prescription drug coverage. Before the ACA, people had to pay extra for separate coverage for these benefits. For example, in 2013, 75 percent of non-group plans did not cover maternity care, 45 percent did not cover substance abuse disorder services, and 38 percent did not cover mental health services. Six percent did not even cover generic drugs.
• Reinstate Lifetime and Annual Limits On 2,042,000 Privately Insured Tennesseans. Repealing the Affordable Care Act means insurance companies would be able to impose annual and lifetime limits on coverage for those insured through their employer or on the individual market.
• Large Employers Could Choose to Follow Any State’s Guidance, Enabling Them Put Annual and Lifetime Limits on Their Employees’ Health Care. Without the ACA’s definition of essential health benefits (EHB) in even some states, states could eliminate them altogether. Large employers could choose to apply any state’s standard, making state regulations essentially meaningless. Because the prohibition on annual and lifetime limits only applies to essential health benefits, this change would allow employers to reinstate annual and lifetime limits on their employees’ coverage.

 

 

 

 

If Sethi Gets His Way, Medicaid Expansion Would Be Repealed

• 381,000 Tennesseans who could gain coverage if Tennessee were to expand Medicaid will be denied that possibility. By not fully expanding Medicaid, Tennessee has restricted its Medicaid program, preventing 381,000 residents from gaining coverage.
• Access To Treatment Would Be In Jeopardy For 800,000 People With Opioid Use Disorder. Roughly four in ten, or 800,000 people with an opioid use disorder are enrolled in Medicaid. Many became eligible through Medicaid expansion.
• Key Support For Rural Hospitals Would Disappear, leaving Tennessee hospitals with $442 million more in uncompensated care.

Washington, DC – The Trump administration’s ongoing war on health care puts the entire LGBTQ community at risk. This Pride Month, it’s important to highlight the barriers to health care that LGBTQ Americans face every day and what’s at stake due to the GOP’s sabotage agenda. To highlight LGBTQ health care during Pride Month, Protect Our Care executive director Brad Woodhouse issued the following statement:

“Pride Month is an important time to recognize the many challenges gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer Americans still face in receiving quality and affordable health care. With blatant attacks and discrimination from the Trump administration against trans people and same-sex parents, and their push to dismantle Medicaid through the Texas lawsuit, the GOP’s sabotage agenda would have devastating effects on the well-being and care of LGBTQ Americans across the country. During Pride Month, Americans should lift up and protect our nation’s most marginalized communities, work to ensure comprehensive coverage for LGBTQ medical needs, and continue working to defeat Trump and the Republican Party’s reckless assault on health care.”

Background:

MEMBERS OF THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY FACE DISCRIMINATION IN HEALTH CARE

The LGBTQ Community Faces Significant Barriers To Care. One study published in Health Affairs found that though the uninsured rate gap among members of the LGBTQ community has started to approach the uninsured rate among the non-LGBTQ community, “many continue to experience poorer access to high-quality care. Gay nonwhite men, bisexual white women, and bisexual and lesbian nonwhite women are disadvantaged in multiple aspects of access, compared to straight white men. Only some of these disparities are attributable to economic factors, which implies that noneconomic barriers to care are substantial.” [Health Affairs, October 2017]

Roughly One In Six LGBTQ People Say They Have Avoided Medical Care Due To Concern They Would Be Discriminated Against. “Overall, 18% of LGBTQ Americans say they have avoided going to a doctor or seeking health care out of concern that they would be discriminated against or treated poorly because of their LGBTQ identity.” [NPR, RWJF, & Harvard, November 2017]

Nearly A Quarter Of Transgender Americans Say They Have Avoided Doctors Or Health Care Out Of Fear Of Discrimination. In a survey conducted for NPR, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 22 percent of transgdender Americans report having avoided doctors or health care out of concern they would be discriminated against. Additionally, in the context of health care 10 percent of transgender people report being personally discrimiated against because they are transgender whem going to a doctor or health clinic. [NPR, RWJF, & Harvard, November 2017]

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION IS GREENLIGHTING EVEN MORE DISCRIMINATION

Now, The Trump Administraion Wants To Erode Rules That Protect LGBTQ Patients From Discrimination In The Health Care System. In May 2019, the Trump administration proposed rule change that allows doctors, hospitals, and health care companies to refuse to provide services to LGBTQ people and patients who have had abortions. While the Affordable Care Act’s Section 1557 protected LGBTQ patients against discrimination based on sex (defined to include gender identity and sex stereotypes), the Trump administration’s proposed rollback of this section grants a license to discriminate. [CBS News, 5/24/19]

The Williams Institute At UCLA Estimates That This Rollback Would Leave 1.4 Million Transgender Adults And 150,000 Transgender Teens Without The Help Of The Federal Government In Situations Of Discrimination. “The original rule was adopted ‘in response to an overwhelming record of anti-transgender discrimination and barriers to health care and health coverage,’ said Jocelyn Samuels, the former director of the HHS Office for Civil Rights and the current head of the Williams Institute at UCLA, in a statement. ‘A reversal of these protections would be contrary to the law and, if adopted, would seriously endanger the health and wellbeing of an especially vulnerable population.’ The Williams Institute, a think tank on LGBTQ rights, said that this rollback would leave 1.4 million transgender adults and 150,000 transgender teens without the help of the federal government in situations of discrimination.” [The Atlantic, 5/24/19]

Trump’s Discrimination Rule Is Part Of A Broader Effort By The Trump Administration To Reverse Progress In LGBTQ+ Rights. “The potential new HHS rule is part of a broader effort by social conservatives in the Trump administration to change the language around LGBTQ people in official documents, regulations and the law to represent more traditional views on relationships and rights. This includes adding references to ‘marriage between man and woman’ and removing terms such as gender rights.” [Washington Post, 4/24/19]

AND REPUBLICANS’ RELENTLESS REPEAL AND SABOTAGE AGENDA THREATENS TO TAKE COVERAGE AWAY FROM MANY IN THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY

Republicans’ Tireless Attempts To Overturn And Repeal The Affordable Care Act Jeopardize LGBTQ Americans’ Coverage. “A new study by the Center for American Progress, or CAP, finds that 15 percent of LGBT Americans across all income ranges are uninsured in 2017, compared to 7 percent of non-LGBT Americans. The ACA is closing this gap for those who most need financial help to afford coverage. In 2013, before the ACA’s coverage reforms came into effect, 1 in 3 LGBT people making less than $45,000 per year (34 percent) were uninsured. Just one year later, in 2014, uninsurance for this group had dropped by one-quarter to 1 in 4 (26 percent), and by 2017, CAP’s study finds that it was around 1 in 5 (22 percent). Conservative proposals to repeal and replace the ACA—such as the American Health Care Act, or AHCA—would undo these gains and hurt LGBT people, their families, and their neighbors.” [Center for American Progress, 3/22/17]

The Trump Administration Has Also Pushed Junk Plans, Which Are Exempt From Key Non-Discrimination Protections. “The Trump administration has sought to widen the availability of plans that may be exempt from key protections, including non-discrimination protections related to SOGI. Short-term limited duration (STLD) and association health plans in particular have been targeted as vehicles for this expansion.” [Kaiser Family Foundation, May 2018]