Amicus: State of Washington v. U.S. Dep’t Health & Human Servs., Western District of Washington

Executive Summary

The National Health Law Program filed this brief, signed by 11 other organizations in support of the State of Washington’s efforts to enjoin the Administration’s changes to the rules for the ACA’s non-discrimination provision, Section 1557. The 2020 Revised Rule regarding section 1557 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will limit the anti-discrimination protections that are applied to all health insurers, including Medicaid and other Federal programs. The 2020 Revised Rule eliminated important protections against sex discrimination that will harm Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Plus (“LGBTQ+”) individuals and women. It also eroded important notice and effective communication protections for people with limited English proficiency (LEP) and disabilities. And it erased whole categories of entities from coverage under Section 1557, including many private insurers and certain Federal programs.