Source: news.bloomberglaw.com<\/p>\n
The White House\u2019s initiative to end the spread of HIV\/AIDS is at odds with the federal health department\u2019s efforts to accommodate health workers\u2019 religious beliefs, according to members of the HIV\/AIDS panel.<\/p>\n
Four members of a White House panel are urging the Trump administration to avoid taking actions that could hinder LGBT individuals\u2019 ability to get care. The panel released a\u00a0letter\u00a0to the public that was spearheaded by the panel\u2019s two co-chairs. It followed a meeting with and a letter from Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights Director Roger Severino last fall.<\/p>\n
The initiative to end the spread of HIV in the U.S. by 2030 and the religious conscience movement are both top priorities for President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
The tension between the two efforts \u201cshows the pitfalls and dangers\u201d of the divergent views in the administration, Carl Schmid, co-chair of the Presidential Advisory Commission on HIV\/AIDS, said in an interview.<\/p>\n
On one hand, the success of HIV initiative relies on getting certain communities\u2014particularly black women and gay and bisexual men of color\u2014access to care. On the other hand, the administration strongly holds that health providers with resolute religious beliefs should be respected.<\/p>\n
Severino\u2019s office has put forth two regulations that advocates say could harm care for LGBT patients and people with HIV.\u00a0One regulation\u00a0would allow health-care workers to deny care based on their religious and moral beliefs, and the\u00a0other\u00a0would undo Obama-era regulations under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act that protect LGBT individuals and women seeking abortions from discrimination in health-care settings.<\/p>\n
Schmid said he hopes HHS Secretary Alex Azar will choose to drop the two proposed rules rather than finalizing them.<\/p>\n
The HHS civil rights office sees protections of religious freedoms as essential to making sure health-care professionals don\u2019t get penalized for the actions they do or don\u2019t do in their jobs because of their moral beliefs.<\/p>\n
The regulation that addresses religious conscience protections is undergoing\u00a0challenges\u00a0in the courts. Three federal courts have\u00a0struck down\u00a0the rule, and the Trump administration has\u00a0appealed the decision.<\/p>\n
The administration has \u201cproposed regulations that we feel hinder the progress in advancing\u201d the HIV initiative, Schmid, founder of the HIV and Hepatitis Policy Institute, told Bloomberg Law.<\/p>\n
The HIV\/AIDS commission\u2019s goal is to destigmatize HIV and build trust between patients, government entities, and the health system. That can\u2019t happen when a separate government unit is \u201cgiving permission for people to discriminate and withhold care,\u201d Schmid said.<\/p>\n
For example, the religious conscience rule gives license to health providers to refuse to test for HIV or offer an HIV prevention drug, he said.<\/p>\n
Members of the panel met with Severino Sept. 24 and expressed their concerns about civil rights protects for LGBT patients and people living with HIV, Severino disclosed in an\u00a0October letter.<\/p>\n
The civil rights office is \u201ccommitted to supporting full implementation\u201d of the HIV initiative, Severino said at the time. The HHS is \u201ccommitted to the principle that discrimination has no place in our nation\u2019s health care system.\u201d<\/p>\n
Severino\u2019s office didn\u2019t respond to a request for comment on the HIV panel\u2019s most recent letter.<\/p>\n
The civil rights office has gone after some providers for discriminatory behavior. In October, it\u00a0required a Florida orthopedic practice\u00a0to update its nondiscrimination policies for dismissing patients to resolve allegations it discriminated against a patient with HIV.<\/p>\n
Even as members of the HIV\/AIDS panel and the administration have disagreements over policies, Schmid said members plan to continue offering \u201cconstructive criticism when it\u2019s warranted.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s important to be at the table,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4007,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[1141,273,2709,2337,2710],"class_list":["post-4006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aids-hiv","tag-donald-trump","tag-health","tag-hiv-initiative","tag-hiv-aids-3","tag-white-houses-initiative"],"yoast_head":"\n