Van Hollen, Menendez, Colleagues Urge Trump Admin to Protect, Guarantee Health Care Access for Americans with HIV, LGBTQ Community amidst COVID-19 Outbreak

Statement

U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) joined Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) along with a group of colleagues in expressing serious concerns to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar about the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the 1.1 million Americans living with HIV in light of the Administration's rolling back of LGBTQ healthcare discrimination protections. COVID-19 poses a serious health risk for individuals living with immunodeficiency disorders like HIV, and this risk is heightened by barriers to healthcare access.

"We aim to call your attention to these issues and urge you to take affirmative action to ensure everyone in the United States, including people living with HIV, can safely access COVID-19 testing, treatments, and support services," the senators wrote. "[U]nder President Trump your agency has repeatedly sought to undermine anti-discrimination protections for HHS-funded programs and services."

In May 24, 2019, HHS rolled back protections for transgender patients, and on June 14, 2019, the agency published a proposed rule that would roll back anti-discrimination protections in Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act. This proposed rule would eliminate protections based on gender identity and sex stereotyping, which is understood to encompass sexual orientation.

Most recently in January 17, 2020, HHS published a proposed rule that would allow the agency's grant recipients to cite religious faith as justification for choosing not to serve certain people, such as members of the LGBTQ community

"While many state and local governments have implemented important policies to reduce the spread of COVID-19, social distancing will not be enough to protect individuals living with HIV. We urge you to lift refill limits of maintenance drugs, including antiretrovirals, for people with chronic conditions such as HIV," the senators added. "Additionally, we urge you to work with LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS-focused organizations to ensure that programs and services related to COVID-19 reach individuals living with HIV."

Joining Senators Van Hollen and Menendez in sending the letter were Senators Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.).