Yesterday, Dr. Stacy Lane of Central Outreach Wellness Center released the following statement regarding the Trump Administration’s decision to roll back Obama era protections:
“I started doing transgender medical care in 2006 in Baltimore during my fellowship, where I found that pairing HIV care with affirming transgender healthcare improved both the lives of trans people and their T cell counts.
At the time, trans health care was not covered by insurance. Us doctors had to do creative things like diagnose people with “endocrine disorder no otherwise specified” to get the healthcare that this population needed. We found ways to get hormones for pennies and labs for free to keep people from black market healthcare, or worse, no healthcare at all.
Recently, our country made some poor decisions to rule back the rules. Transgender people are no longer legally protected in the arena of healthcare and doctors and health insurers can pick and choose who they will care for, and who they will not.
People who support the new rule argue that the rule was never legal in the first place, but was instead an executive “over reach” put in place by President Obama.
I’m not a lawyer or an expert in government policy. I’m not here for a political debate.
I do believe in my heart that any rule that can be interpreted as a wat to further degrade the human rights of an already marginalized and vulnerable population is unethical and morally wrong.
What I do know is that ALL humans deserve healthcare in a way that makes them feel safe, valued and with dignity and respect. People of color, immigrants, addicts, criminals, ALL HUMANS.
Healthcare for the transgender population has proven no to “break the bank” for insurance companies, and to improve the lives of the people.
If you are in a position of power, I ask that you stay on the right side of human rights and the right side of healthcare, and support the need for ongoing Transgender specific healthcare.
My patients are afraid. They are rushing to try to get surgery for fear if may be taken away at the next “open enrollment”.
Central Outreach Wellness Center is here to care for transgender people regardless of the rules.
Always have been, always will be.
I’m confident that there are plenty of good doctors in this country that are cut from the same cloth as I, and are happy to provide this healthcare.
We need to hear from Highmark, UPMC< Governor Tom Wolf and other leaders. What side of human rights are you on? What side of history are you on? Will medicare and your insurance companies still cover the care my patients desperately need?
— Doctor Stacy Lane, D. O.”