Donald Trump has continued his outright assault on LGBTQ people and our rights. One of the most dangerous attacks on the community has been his attacks on LGBTQ health care. Through Pence allies at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Trump administration has peeled away almost every Obama-era protection for LGBTQ patients. 

Here are some of the lowlights of Trump’s attacks on LGBTQ health care:

1. Rule 1557: HHS just published a proposed major change to the administrative rule interpreting Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to remove explicit protections for LGBTQ people in healthcare programs and activities by excluding protections from discrimination based on sex stereotyping and gender identity. 
2. Advocated for the elimination of the entire Affordable Care Act: The Justice Department issued a legal filing arguing that the entirety of the Affordable Care Act should be overturned. This move would jeopardize health care for over 130 million people with preexisting conditions like HIV and eliminate non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people.
3. Kicked HIV+ people out of the military because of their status: The Department of Defense instituted a “Deploy or Get Out” policy, which would remove HIV+ military personnel from service solely because of their status.
4. Erased transgender people: Trump’s HHS proposed a new definition that would narrowly define sex as either male or female, unchangeable, and determined by birth. According to the New York Times “The new definition would essentially eradicate federal recognition of the estimated 1.4 million [transgender] Americans.”
5. Proposed cutting over $1.35 billion from PEPFAR budget: In his proposed FY 2019 budget, Trump cut $1.35 billion from, or 29% of, PEPFAR’s budget. PEPFAR is the U.S. government program that fights AIDS abroad.