Health Care for Transgender Americans Under Threat
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) prohibits discrimination in health care based on race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability. In 2016, the federal government clarified that this protection extends to gender identity: health providers and insurance companies that receive federal funding may not deny care to transgender people.
In a new post on To the Point, the Commonwealth Fund’s Corinne Lewis, Yaphet Getachew, and Mekdes Tsega say that if the federal government decides to redefine gender as sex at birth, the change could effectively eliminate the ACA’s federal protections for transgender people.
“The move could have devastating implications for the health and health care of transgender and gender nonconforming individuals, placing an already vulnerable population at even greater risk,” the authors say. “It would also undermine efforts to ensure everyone has access to affordable care that will help avoid the need for more expensive care down the line.”
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