Trump "executive order" could allow doctors at public Veterans hospitals to deny care based on political party
A rule change at the Department of Veterans Affairs spurred by President Donald Trump's executive order could lead to doctors at public veterans' hospitals denying care to people based on a variety of previously protected categories, reported The Guardian on Monday — including affiliation to a political party, national origin, or marital status.
It's yet another potential threat to care in the VA hospital system, the United States' largest integrated hospital network, which includes 170 hospitals, more than 1,000 clinics, and treats around 9 million veterans every year — as Republicans have also toyed with the idea of cuts to the program.
VA officials made the rule change, according to the report, based on "the president’s 30 January executive order titled 'Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government'. The primary purpose of the executive order was to strip most government protections from transgender people. The VA has since ceased providing most gender-affirming care and forbidden a long list of words, including 'gender affirming' and 'transgender,' from clinical settings."
However, per the report, another effect of the order was to remove every anti-discrimination protection that isn't strictly named in federal statute. Federal law explicitly prohibits discrimination based on race, color, sex, or religion — but the VA had many other rules in place that went beyond federal law.
https://www.rawstory.com/veterans-care/
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