The U.S. government proposed a new rule on Thursday, Sept 3, to help strengthen the existing policies against transgender health discrimination. Through this new initiative, health care providers and health insurance companies will be banned from denying coverage for health services that transgender people may require.
Most insurers are known to deny transgender individuals with medical services related to their sexual preference such as hormone therapy and mental health consultations, particularly if the health measures are associated with their transitioning phase. Sometimes, medical providers also refuse to render care for these patients.
But now, under the proposed rule released by the Department of Health and Human Services, transgender individuals will be entitled to fair and equal treatment from doctors, medical providers and insurers. They will be empowered to have the legal rights to submit civil rights claims should any member of the health care team and insurance staff refuse to provide them with warranted care and coverage respectively.
This regulation actually encompasses the most vital assertion of the rights of transgender people to receive equal handling in the clinical and health insurance settings, says Samuel Bagenstos, a professor of law at the University of Michigan.
The entire health care delivery system will be involved in the proposed rule, as all medical providers and insurance firms who acquire federal financial assistance would be affected. Other funding systems that these providers employ which may put them under the rule are stated in the provision. This means that the rule will be applicable to majority of doctors, hospitals and insurers.
A public comment period will have to be implemented prior to its final approval. But as early as now, insurers have already appealed to the regulators to utilize a more specific characterization of "federal financial assistance," that may make the rule applicable to fewer insurance plans.
Once approved, the rule must be followed by health care facilities and insurers. Those who will be found to violate the rules stated in the provision will be subjected to the risk of having their federal grants retracted. They may also face individual lawsuits from the discriminated patients.
Under the Affordable Care Act, medical providers and insurance companies have been prohibited from showing prejudice to patients based on their sex, race and disability; now through the proposed rule, the act will be extended to protect the transgender community.
Photo: Ted Eytan | Flickr
