A new rule strengthens protections for LGBTQ people against unfair treatment by insurers and medical providers.

by Jeffrey Young

(Huffington Post) - Transgender individuals gained new legal protections against discrimination by health insurance companies and medical providers under a regulation published Friday.

The health care rules stem from anti-discrimination provisions in the Affordable Care Act, designed to prevent unfair treatment based on sex, gender identity and sexual orientation. They are the latest step President Barack Obama has taken to extend civil rights protections for transgender people.

Most recently, the Obama administration has challenged a North Carolina law mandating individuals use public bathrooms that correspond with the gender they were assigned at birth, and notified public schools they risk losing federal funds if they impose similar requirements on students.

Under the new regulations, transgender people are guaranteed equal treatment by insurers and medical providers, and will have the right to make civil rights claims against those that deny them coverage or necessary care because they are transgender. That includes forbidding health insurers from categorically excluding treatments related to gender transitions, although it doesn’t mandate those procedures be covered.

The rules will take effect in 60 days and apply to any health care provider or health insurance company that receives federal funds, and to state Medicaid agencies and the Obamacare health insurance exchange marketplaces.

“Today’s announcement is a key step toward realizing equity within our health care system and reaffirms this administration’s commitment to giving every American access to the health care they deserve,” Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell said in a press release.

Advocates for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer communities praised the new rules.

“LGBT people have too often faced healthcare systems that provide inequitable and hostile treatment. This new and important regulation will address many of these disparities and is critical to help end discrimination against transgender and gender nonconforming people in healthcare and insurance,” Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin said in a press release.

Historically, transgender people have faced extraordinary barriers to health insurance and medical treatments.

Some health insurance companies refuse to cover treatments related to transitioning, such as hormone therapy and mental health services, and some medical providers deny treatment to transgender people. A 2015 survey revealed that more than 40 percent of female-to-male transgender people have experienced discrimination in the health care system.