Tag: anti-discrimination

Technician holding tube of blood for testing in the research laboratory.

Fighting Diagnostic Discrimination and Stigma in Monkeypox

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By Katie Gu

History recently repeated itself when technicians from two major laboratories refused to accept blood samples from patients testing for monkeypox. 

This August, the U.S. saw the largest increase in monkeypox cases in the world. In the midst of a nearly 80% increase in U.S. cases, phlebotomists from Labcorp and Quest Diagnostics reportedly turned away potential monkeypox samples. Such refusals dangerously parallel instances of diagnostic discrimination against HIV/AIDS patients in the 1980s and 1990s. 

Within both eras, such actions have fueled stigma, propagated misinformation, and encouraged scapegoating in the middle of public health crises. 

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WASHINGTON, DC - OCT. 8, 2019: Rally for LGBTQ rights outside Supreme Court as Justices hear oral arguments in three cases dealing with discrimination in the workplace because of sexual orientation.

Affirming Nondiscrimination Rights: HHS Needs to Acknowledge a Private Right of Action for Section 1557 Violations

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By Cathy Zhang

Last week, on the heels of attacks on trans youth and their families in Texas, the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a notice and guidance expressing support for transgender and gender nonconforming youth and highlighting the civil rights and privacy laws surrounding gender affirming care.

OCR all but names the Texas attacks as unlawful under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, and disability by federally funded health programs or activities. It notes that for federally funded entities, restricting medically necessary care on the basis of gender — such as doctors reporting parents of patients to state authorities — “likely violates Section 1557.”

The guidance directs those who have been discriminated against on the basis of gender identity or disability in seeking access to gender-affirming health care to file a complaint through OCR. HHS can go further, however, by formally acknowledging that individuals have a legal right to enforce Section 1557 when they have experienced prohibited health care discrimination.

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