AFA of PA ACTION ALERT

January 26, 2022

Issue

HHS Wants Insurance Companies to Pay for Gender Confusion “Treatments”

Details

The Biden Administration’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has proposed changes to the Affordable Care Act and this will impact every American!

The proposed addition would require insurers to cover gender transition procedures such as cross-sex hormones and sex reassignment surgery by prohibiting health insurance providers from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity (SOGI). This rule reinstates part of an Obama-era regulation that interpreted the sex discrimination prohibition in Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act as including SOGI—citing the 2020 U.S. Supreme Court Bostock decision and recent Title IX cases. The proposed rule would make that interpretation legally binding on insurers. 

So-called ‘sex reassignment surgery’ alone costs tens of thousands of dollars!  Now, if approved, insurers will also have to cover the cost of puberty blockers for children and cross-sex hormones!  

This rule change is dangerous!  Many individuals who have undergone so-called sex reassignment surgery have lived to regret it.  In fact, there is a ‘detransitioning” movement afoot, but the irreparable damage has been done.  Additionally, this rule would subject numerous religiously-affiliated hospitals that were sued under the Obama administration to further lawsuits for refusing to remove healthy organs and tissue from healthy patients as part of gender transition procedures. Doctors, nurses, and other religious providers will be forced to choose between their livelihoods and religious beliefs.

Action Steps HHS is seeking public comment to the proposed rule – comment period ends at 11:59 p.m. tomorrow, January 27th.  Click here to read the proposed rule.    

On that page click on the green “Submit a Formal Commit” button on the right side under the title to submit your comment. Be sure to include file code CMS-9911-P in your comments.  Remember your comments are considered public.