Civil Liberties Committee opposes Proposed Rule to “Clarify” the scope of Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)
On August 12, the Civil Liberties Committee submitted a formal letter to the Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services opposing a change to Section 1557 NPRM, RIN 0945-AA11 of the Affordable Care Act. They write:
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has proposed a rule (Proposed Rule) that purports to “clarify” the scope of Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability under any health program or activity that receives federal financial assistance. Under the Obama Administration, HHS adopted a rule (Existing Rule) that defined discrimination “on the basis of sex” to include, among other things, discrimination on the basis of gender identity. 45 CFR 92.4 (2018). The Proposed Rule would revise the Existing Rule substantially and would no longer prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity. See 84 Fed. Reg. 27846, 27852-57 (June 14, 2019).
The Committee submits these comments in opposition to the Proposed Rule. We believe that discrimination on the basis of gender identity should be prohibited both for legal and policy reasons.