Hogan Lovells supports Boston Alliance of LGBTQ+ Youth in lawsuit challenging Trump-era health discrimination rule

Hogan Lovells supports Boston Alliance of LGBTQ+ Youth in lawsuit challenging Trump-era health discrimination rule

Press releases | 02 April 2024

Washington, D.C., Boston, 2 April 2024 — Global law firm Hogan Lovells is proud to announce a major development in the lawsuit challenging the Trump-Pence Administration’s “Rollback Rule” undermining health care nondiscrimination protections established in Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The motion for summary judgement, filed 18 March, calls on the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts to vacate the discriminatory rule.

More information on the case, Boston Alliance of LGBTQ+ Youth (BAGLY) ET AL. v. HHS, can be found here.

The Trump-era regulation attempted to roll back express protections on the basis of sex — including pregnancy, gender identity, and sex stereotyping — as well as protections for patients with limited-English proficiency, Indigenous patients, and those living with chronic illnesses, including HIV. Plaintiffs filed the lawsuit in 2020, but proceedings were halted in 2022 after the Biden Administration issued a new proposed rule, promising to make significant revisions addressing the issues in Plaintiffs’ case. Despite the Administration’s promise nearly three years ago, the final rule has yet to be issued.

The plaintiffs and their counsel, including the firm, released the following joint statement: “The harm caused by the Trump Rollback Rule is clear. It has led to an increase in discrimination in health care and made it harder for people to access much needed care – especially amidst widespread attacks on access to care for transgender and pregnant people. It has decreased people’s ability to get legal relief when they experience that discrimination and increased the demand for help from trusted sources like many of the Plaintiffs, thereby forcing them to divert their resources to mitigate the harms of the Rule.”

The Hogan Lovells team was led by partners Jo-Ann Sagar (Washington, D.C.), Greg Noonan (Boston), and Jessica Ellsworth (Washington, D.C.). Additional support was provided by senior associates Katie Culora (Washington, D.C.), Safa Osmani (Boston), and Marlan Golden (Washington, D.C.); associates Jamie Hannah (Washington, D.C.), Kayla Fisher (Philadelphia), Eva Schifini (Los Angeles), and Gabrielle Simeck (Washington, D.C.); and paralegal coordinator Alicia Balthazar.