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House Issues Health Care Bill Without LGBT Provisions

03/19/10-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
In the wake of yesterdays protests, the House Rules Committee released the reconciliation healthcare reform bill today. What is not contained within it are the provisions which would have covered the needs of LGBT Americans specifically. The bill was posted late yesterday evening. According to the Human Rights Campaign:

“We are deeply disappointed that, after months of lobbying for their inclusion, important measures specifically addressing the needs of LGBT people and people with HIV – ending the unfair taxation of employer-provided domestic partner health benefits, permitting states to offer early HIV treatment under Medicaid, collecting critical health data on LGBT people and addressing discrimination in health care – are not a part of this bill.”

Up until yesterday, Representative Tammy Baldwin was certain that these provisions would remain within the final bill.

The bill did put back in provisions funding abstinence only education despite the fact that such programs are a complete failure and only delay teens having sexual relations by about a year over other sex ed programs. Unfortunately, because so many of them are unaware of contraception, the rates of pregnancy among teens in abstinence only education programs is higher than those in more comprehensive programs.

The bill is expected to be voted on this weekend.

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