HHS to reverse Trump administration policy that restricted protections for gay and transgender patients

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(WASHINGTON) — The Biden Administration announced Monday it will move to protect gay and transgender people against sex discrimination in health care.

The Department of Health and Human Services said it will roll back a Trump administration policy that tried to narrow the legal protections against discrimination in health care by issuing rules defining sex as gender assigned at birth.

“Fear of discrimination can lead individuals to forgo care, which can have serious negative health consequences,” HHS Secretary Xavier Beccera said in a statement.

Beccera said this action today puts HHS in line with a 6-3 Supreme Court decision last year, which established that federal laws against sex discrimination on the job also protect gay and transgender people.

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