North Carolinians Call on Tillis & Burr to Defend LGBTQ People from Trump’s Attacks

North Carolinians Call on Tillis & Burr to Defend LGBTQ People from Trump’s Attacks

The Trump Administration’s New Rule Allows Health Care Providers to Deny Care to Transgender People

Raleigh, N.C. – On Friday, the fourth anniversary of the Pulse Night Club massacre in Orlando, the Trump administration announced a new rule removing nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people and undermining the Affordable Care Act’s discrimination protections, jeopardizing the health of North Carolinians. This is especially true for transgender individuals and LGBTQ communities of color who are disproportionately discriminated against when seeking medical care.

Piedmont Rising Executive Director, Casey Wilkinson, released the following statement in response:

“Thom Tillis and Richard Burr cannot remain silent as the Trump administration rolls back access to health care for trans North Carolinians. We need them to speak out against this disgraceful decision and make clear that all North Carolinians should have access to health care. We are waiting for them to put politics aside, condemn discrimination, and speak out on behalf of their constituents and treat everyone with the dignity they deserve.” 

Background:

• In North Carolina, 1 in 5 LGBTQ people lack health insurance.

• 8 percent of lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults and 29 percent of transgender adults nationwide have reported being outright denied care by a health care provider.

• LGBTQ people of color are significantly more likely than white members of the LGBTQ community to face barriers in access to health care.

• On the fourth anniversary of the Pulse massacre, the Trump administration announced a new rule removing explicit nondiscrimination protections for transgender people and undermining the Affordable Care Act’s discrimination protections, jeopardizing the health of millions of Americans during a global pandemic in the process.

• The Trump administration’s revised rule greatly expands the ability for health care providers, including those receiving federal funding, to deny care to LGBTQ patients for religious or moral reasons.

• On June 12, Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s leading LGBTQ advocacy group, announced its lawsuit against the rule, which argues “that the removal of protections against sex stereotyping and gender identity exceeds the administration’s authority to define sex discrimination” within the Affordable Care Act.

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About Piedmont Rising

Piedmont Rising is a 501 (c)4 issue advocacy organization built by and for North Carolinians to advocate for lower insurance premiums and prescription drug costs and to ensure that more people have access to safe and affordable health care. Through grassroots organizing, education, and engagement, we are amplifying our health care stories and holding our elected officials accountable to the people, and issues they were elected to represent. www.piedmontrising.org