In a recent development, a federal judge in Mississippi has blocked the Biden administration from enforcing new anti-discrimination rules in health care for transgender Americans. US District Judge Louis Guirola issued a preliminary injunction just two days before the new protections were set to take effect, citing a landmark Supreme Court ruling that weakened the power of federal agencies.
The Department of Health and Human Services had unveiled the new rules earlier this year to prevent health providers and insurers receiving federal funding from discriminating against individuals seeking care based on gender identity or sexual orientation. These rules aimed to restore protections for transgender patients that were rolled back by the Trump administration in 2020.
However, the new rules faced legal challenges, including from a group of Republican state attorneys general who argued that HHS had exceeded its authority in issuing the rules and that they would suffer financially for not complying. Judge Guirola agreed with the plaintiffs, stating that HHS had wrongly relied on a Supreme Court ruling from 2020 that expanded protections for LGBTQ workers.
By ruling against the Biden administration, Judge Guirola highlighted a recent Supreme Court decision that overturned a longstanding precedent requiring deference to federal agencies in creating regulations. The blocked rules were based on Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, which prohibits discrimination in health programs or activities based on factors such as race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability.
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, who is part of the lawsuit challenging the new protections, praised the judge’s ruling as a step against the administration’s misuse of regulatory power. The Biden administration has not yet commented on the ruling.
CNN’s Avery Lotz contributed to this report.
