The Trump administration is seeking to limit access to healthcare for transgender people and DACA recipienets. A proposed rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) would make DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipients ineligible for healthcare offered through the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and would allow ACA healthcare plans, also known as marketplace healthcare plans, to deny coverage of gender-affirming healthcare.
Campaign for Southern Equality joined organizations and individuals accross the country in submitting a public comment to CMS stating our opposition to the proposed rule. Learn more about the campaign led by Advocates for Trans Equality here and read our public comment bellow:
Campaign for Southern Equality
Submitted via: www.regulations.gov
Re: Comment on CMS-9884-P – Opposition to Proposed Rule
To the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS),
On behalf of Campaign for Southern Equality, we strongly oppose the proposed changes outlined in CMS-9884-P, which would prohibit coverage of essential health benefits (EHB) for gender-affirming care and exclude Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients from the definition of “lawfully present.” These changes would significantly harm transgender people, particularly transgender people of color and immigrant trans individuals, who already face substantial health care barriers.
According to the 2022 U.S. Transgender Survey (USTS):
- 33% of transgender people reported avoiding health care due to fear of discrimination.
- 48% of transgender people of color experienced mistreatment by a health care provider.
- 42% of transgender adults have attempted suicide, underscoring the need for access to affirming care.
Gender-affirming care is widely recognized as medically necessary by leading medical and mental health organizations, including the American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association, and World Professional Association for Transgender Health. Denying coverage for this care will exacerbate health disparities, increase barriers to access, and directly harm transgender individuals, particularly those who are already economically vulnerable.
This proposal also contradicts the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which ensures that EHBs cover necessary medical care for all people, including transgender individuals. Allowing insurers to exclude these benefits arbitrarily will further discriminate in healthcare settings and limit life-saving treatment.
Here in the U.S. South, where Campaign for Southern Equality is based, state lawmakers have introduced some of the most restrictive policies in the country surrounding gender-affirming care. According to the Movement Advancement Project, the majority of Southern states have banned gender-affirming healthcare for youth under the age of 18, restricted Medicaid coverage of gender-affirming care, and excluded gender-affirming care from state employee insurance coverage. Despite this, the South is home to more transgender people than any other region of the country; an estimated 523,600 Southerners identify as transgender, according to the UCLA Williams Institute. Transgender people are real and they are resilient. Efforts to restrict gender-affirming healthcare lead to nothing but poor health outcomes for transgender people.
We urge CMS to protect trans health by rejecting these harmful proposals.
Sincerely,
Campaign for Southern Equality Team
