WomenHeart led a group of fourteen patient and consumer organizations in responding to a proposed federal regulation that would roll back patients’ protections from discrimination embodied in the Health Care Rights Law. Our comments, submitted August 13, 2019, urged the administration to withdraw the rule, arguing that it would impact women with heart disease, among others with pre-existing conditions, the LGBTQI community, those who are disabled and patients with limited English proficiency.
It is critical that all people are treated fairly and without bias when seeking health care. Women with heart disease know all too well that sometimes sexism and discrimination can impact their care.
If the proposed rule is enacted, it would eliminate the general prohibition on discrimination in health care settings based on gender identity. It would remove protections against discriminatory marketing practices or insurance benefit design, allowing insurers to engage in practices to make certain therapies more expensive and discourage particular individuals from enrolling in certain plans. In addition, it would weaken protections that provide access to interpretation and translation services for individuals with limited English proficiency.
As part of this effort, several dozen WomenHeart Champions and other supporters responded to WomenHeart’s call to action, submitting their own comments opposing the rule and all forms of discrimination against people seeking health care.
Read the comments here.
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