UPDATE, May 2016: Since the original guide was published in 2013, there have been been significant changes with regards to transgender rights in the healthcare context. Court victories, new state insurance bulletins, and evolving insurance policies have culminated in the recently finalized rules confirming that transgender and gender nonconforming people are protected against health care discrimination under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act. The revised version of “Creating Equal Access To Quality Health Care For Transgender Patients: Transgender-Affirming Hospital Policies” incorporates these changes, adds new policies and updates existing ones.
The revised guide also includes new information about:
- Access to hormone therapy;
- Access to personal items that assist gender presentation;
- Collection of gender identity data in electronic health records;
Lambda Legal has released a first-of-its-kind resource for hospitals on how to treat transgender patients with respect and dignity. “Creating Equal Access To Quality Health Care For Transgender Patients: Transgender-Affirming Hospital Policies” is a 20-page guide that provides model hospital policies aimed at ensuring appropriate interactions with transgender patients.
The policies address issues that when mishandled become barriers to accessing health care for transgender individuals:
- Confidentiality
- Non-discrimination
- Room assignments
- Bathroom access
- Admitting/registration procedures
The guide can be viewed and downloaded as a PDF document from the Lambda Legal website.
For more information, see Lambda Legal’s blog posts: