Today, the Senate narrowly confirmed Tom Price to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). NCTE joined an unprecedented chorus of opposition to Price’s nomination because of his long record of intolerance toward LGBT Americans, extreme anti-woman views, and vigorous efforts to destroy Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act.
In response to this news, Mara Keisling, Executive Director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, said:
By confirming Rep. Price today, the Senate voted to put health care for millions of Americans at risk. Despite today’s vote, people all over the nation, including transgender Americans and their families, do not want and cannot afford to have their health care taken away from them.
Transgender people already have a difficult time accessing health care, and given his history, Rep. Price will likely increase that hardship. The 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey showed that 23 percent of respondents had not sought health care during the previous year when they needed to because they were afraid that being transgender would lead to them being mistreated.
We at NCTE will continue fighting to preserve health care for all Americans and to combat any effort by HHS to promote discrimination. Given Price’s demeaning past comments about transgender people, we call on him to meet with transgender people and their families to discuss their experiences with health care.
