On May 24, 2019, the Trump Administration proposed several changes to Sec. 1557 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), which was originally implemented in 2016 under the Obama Administration. Many of the proposed revisions have the effect of eliminating protections against discrimination on the basis of gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Additionally, the Trump Administration’s proposed revisions attempt to save money by eliminating language assistance requirements that individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP) rely on to successfully navigate the U.S. health care system. If finalized, the administration’s proposed rule will undoubtedly increase the likelihood that minorities will experience discrimination when attempting to access health care services in the United States.
On August 12, 2019, Aimed Alliance submitted a comment to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, responding to the proposed rule and requesting that it be withdrawn. Specifically, Aimed Alliance called attention to the harms that will result if HHS reinterprets the meaning of discrimination “on the basis of sex,” the pervasive discrimination that the LGBTQ community already experiences in the U.S. health care system, and the importance of language access requirements for LEP individuals. Aimed Alliance requested that HHS withdraw the proposed rule to preserve the nondiscrimination protections that Americans currently enjoy under the original 2016 regulation.
Click here to read the full comment.
Last Updated on May 14, 2020 by Aimed Alliance
