LGBTQ+ older adults face challenges in accessing and using their Medicare benefits. Same sex couples who are married or are considering marriage, for example, need to understand how marriage can affect their rights to benefits and their access to programs that make Medicare affordable. Transgender older adults seeking gender affirming care also need to understand […]
The Trump Administration has published a proposed rule to eliminate key nondiscrimination protections under the Health Care Rights Law (Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act) for LGBTQ seniors, people with limited English proficiency and others in health care settings. If finalized, this rule change would increase the likelihood that older adults would experience discrimination […]
Today as part of an ongoing attack on the most marginalized, the Trump Administration is proposing dangerous and far reaching changes to regulations implementing the Health Care Rights Law, Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, which prohibits discrimination in healthcare. The proposal attempts to eliminate the rights of LGBTQ people. It also rolls back […]
Tina and Jackie were born in the same town in 1947. Despite similar beginnings, their lives take very different turns. In 1967, Tina meets Frank. And Jackie meets Frances. As a same-sex couple, Jackie and Frances couldn’t marry, were denied spousal benefits, and experienced a lifetime of discrimination and lost wages. Fast forward to today, […]
On March 1, 2017 the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced that it would reopen its decisions to deny spousal or survivor’s benefits to individuals who had been married to someone of the same sex, and whose marriage wasn’t recognized because of a discriminatory state or federal ban on marriage. This ruling and policy applies not […]
On December 31, 2016, a Texas Federal District Court issued a nationwide preliminary injunction prohibiting the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Civil Rights from enforcing the specific transgender protections found in the regulations implementing Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act.
Ever since the Supreme Court first overturned the federal Defense of Marriage Act in 2013 and then, in 2015, making same-sex marriage legal in every state, there has been a flood of changes in how government programs address the needs of LGBT individuals. For people who qualify for Medicare, there are many important changes: Married […]
On July 5, the first wave of new Medicaid managed care regulation requirements go into effect. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published the final Medicaid managed care rule this spring, introducing sweeping changes to how the federal government will regulate the entities that manage long-term services and supports (LTSS). While many of […]
Aging advocates working to promote health equity got some good news and extensive summer reading last week. After much anticipation, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released final regulations that seek to transform care for underserved communities by ending discrimination in health care services and settings.
