As June’s Pride Month comes to a close, Ohio Governor Mike Dewine signed an anti-LGBTQ bill into law allowing medical professionals to refuse to treat any patient over moral or religious beliefs. The religious objection provision did not come up in Congress for a stand-alone vote. Instead, the legislation was buried inside of the 2,438-page budget bill which passed last week.

Based on the wording of the law, Ohio health providers and insurance companies have “the freedom to decline to perform, participate in, or pay for any health care service which violates the practitioner’s, institution’s, or payer’s conscience as informed by the moral, ethical, or religious beliefs.”

Women’s health advocates and the LGBTQ community are sounding the alarm. The sweepingly broad language opens the doors to discriminatory practices by health providers and insurance companies who fail to remember that the patient always comes first. 

The wording of the law goes way beyond issues of sexuality and gender. The law permits any healthcare provider to deny any medical services based on religious or moral objections.

The law is not limited to abortion services, contraceptive coverage, transgender care, or HIV medications. The legislation allows the individual provider to make a determinative choice of who they want to treat. 

The Federal EMTALA Act prohibits the US Health system from turning its backs on any patient in need of emergency care stating, “EMTALA requires Medicare-participating hospitals with emergency departments to screen and treat the emergency medical conditions of patients in a non-discriminatory manner to anyone, regardless of their ability to pay, insurance status, national origin, race, creed or color.

Ohio Governor Dewine’s bill provides a workaround for providers who wish to deny care to a patient based on moral or religious objections. The Ohio law states providers are “responsible for providing all appropriate health care services, other than the particular health care service that conflicts with the medical practitioner’s beliefs or convictions until another medical practitioner or facility is available.”

In Ohio, doctors and nurses, who refuse to treat a patient, must provide emergency care until they can transfer the patient to another provider or hospital willing to treat them.

Data from the Kaiser Family Foundation show that most Americans, regardless of their political party, do not support discriminatory healthcare policies. Republicans, Democrats, and Independents agree the US Health system should not refuse to treat patients based on their life choices. 

Governor DeWine and the Ohio legislature failed to recognize one of the most important healthcare provider aspects. 

Patient care is about the patient. Not the provider.

The Ohio law fails to acknowledge one of the most challenging aspects of medical care. Doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers work hard to avoid value judgments when providing care. We work to see all patients as worthy. We try to avoid bias. 

Healthcare workers treat patients. We do not judge who they are or what choices they made to need our service. Doctors and nurses do not treat the patients we like and turn away those who are not aligned with our morals and values. 

Good doctors and nurses do not pick and choose. We separate ourselves from value judgments to treat the patient in front of us. No matter who they are.

Medical care is about placing value on each person’s life. Although challenging, health providers try to avoid considering patient culpability when treating people. Our personal feelings must be checked at the door. 

We treat the person in front of us. 

Pulmonologists do not refuse to treat or blame a chain smoker for getting lung cancer. Trauma surgeons treat drunk driving victims and the perpetrators equally. We do not refuse care to gang members who get shot or deny Covid-19 treatments to those who refuse to wear masks. 

In Obstetrics and Gynecology, we provide care to pregnant women who use illegal drugs and prescribe PrEP therapy to those with multiple unprotected sexual partners. We don’t insert personal bias or value judgments into patient care. We try very hard to do exactly the opposite.

A health provider’s job is to counsel patients and empower them with knowledge. We discuss the health risks of their life choices. 

We do not deny care to those who live their lives in ways differently than we do, even if we find a patient’s life choices morally offensive. 

The post Ohio Sneaks LGBTQ Discrimination Law Into Budget Bill appeared first on Medika Life.

Desantis’s series of line-item vetoes to the approved Florida State Budget slashed crucial funding to the LGBTQ community. As a result, a group of homeless teenagers seeking bridge housing through the Zebra Coalition finds themselves back on the street.

The Zebra Coalition is a nonprofit organization in Orlando, Florida, dedicated to helping displaced LGBTQ youth find temporary housing. Florida lawmakers approved appropriations for $750,00 to the group to help with renovations and operations. However, Governor Desantis removed the funding from the budget through a line-item veto.

The cost to fund the adolescent housing project was 0.00075% of the $100 billion state budget approved by the Florida legislature last week.

In the United States, 4.2 million youth experience homelessness each year, and 18% of homeless teens live in Florida. The Zebra Coalition is a group of 52 diverse private and public organizations throughout Florida. The mission is to assist LGBTQ youth “facing homelessness, bullying, isolation from their families, and physical, sexual and drug abuse with individualized programs to guide them to recovery and stability.”

The Zebra Coalition has helped over 400 teens get off the streets by providing temporary housing. In addition, leaders in the Zebra Coalition offer each young person an individual care plan to help them learn daily living skills to help them transition to independent living.

According to a study from the University of Chicago, LGBTQ teens are 120% More Likely to experience homelessness. Internal data from the Zebra Coalition show familial rejection is the overwhelming cause accounting for 40% of the cases.

National data from True Colors United shows a similar pattern. Familiar conflict over sexual orientation or gender identity is the most frequent risk factor cited by homeless LGBTQ youth. This data demonstrates that these youth were forced to leave home or ran away after coming out to their families. Others teenagers reported abuse at home as the cause for their lack of a consistent living environment, while others simply aged out of the foster care system.

The Zebra Coalition sought funding through the state of Floria to renovate the building currently used to house homeless LGBTQ teens. Florida lawmakers approved $750,000 in funding to improve the leased building and help with operating costs. The Governor’s veto strips the financing which was designated to cover about half of the expenses.

Executive Director Heather Wilkie told the Tampa Bay Times, “Now we are going to have to go back to square one and figure out how we are going to fundraise. I’m not giving up on the dream, but I’m certainly disappointed.”

The Zebra Coalition funding was not the only LGBTQ group affected by the Desantis vetoes. Despite approval by the Florida legislature, Desantis removed $150,000 in funding for the Orlando United Assistance Center.

The Orlando United Assistance Center provides mental health counseling and employment assistance services to the victims of families of the 2016 Pulse Nightclub murders. The OUAC mission is to “The Center’s mission is to promote and empower the LGBT+ community ad its allies through information, education, advocacy, and support.”

OUAC received funding from Orlando, Orange County Government, Osceola County Government, and Heart of Florida United Way. The OUAC is located in downtown Orlando to help the Pulse nightclub victims recover. Services listed on the website include:

• Case management working directly with an OUAC Case Manager
• Navigation of community resources
• Referrals for mental health and counseling services unique to the individual’s need
• Connection with community resources to help address rent/mortgage assistance, immigration, utility assistance, and transportation issues.

Pride month will continue in Florida, but the LGBTQ targetted vetoes by Governor Desantis will cast a dark cloud on the community’s progress to help improve lives in Florida.

The post Florida’s Gov Vetoes Funding for Homeless LGBTQ Kids appeared first on Medika Life.

We treat the patient in front of us. No matter who they are.

The Arkansas legislature decided to toss this principle tenet of healthcare out the window. 

Doctors and nurses in Arkansas can now refuse to treat patients based on moral or religious objections. Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson signed, The Medical Ethics and Diversity Act, SB 289, into law on March 26th.

The law states its purpose is “to protect all medical practitioners, healthcare institutions, and healthcare payers from discrimination, punishment, or retaliation as a result of any instance of conscientious medical objection.”

Health providers’ moral objections are the focus of the new Arkansas law, but the law does not protect patients from discriminatory practices from a healthcare provider. Instead, Governor Asa Hutchinson relies on federal law “that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, sex, gender, and national origin.”

The Arkansas Medical Ethics and Diversity Act, SB 289, does not include language protecting against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. 

Most media reports have framed the law as blatantly anti-LGBTQ legislation. The Human Rights Campaign fought against the bill because it allows doctors to refuse care for transgender and LGBTQ patients. Arkansas health providers can now legally refuse services to anyone based on a moral objection as long as it is not an emergency or violate federal EMTALA guidelines.

But the wording of the law goes way beyond issues of sexuality and gender. The law permits any healthcare provider to deny any medical services based on religious or moral objections.

ACLU of Arkansas Executive Director Holly Dickson pointed out the risks stating, “making it easier to deny people health care isn’t just wrong, it’s dangerous.” 

The Arkansas law fails to acknowledge one of the most challenging aspects of medical care. Doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers work hard to avoid value judgments when providing care. We work to see all patients as worthy and try to avoid bias. 

Medical care is about placing value on each person’s life. Although challenging, health providers try to avoid considering patient culpability when treating people. Our personal feelings must be checked at the door. We treat the person in front of us. 

Pulmonologists do not refuse to treat or blame a chain smoker for getting lung cancer. Trauma surgeons treat drunk driving victims and the perpetrators equally. We do not refuse care to gang members who get shot or deny Covid-19 treatments to those who refuse to wear a mask. 

In Obstetrics and Gynecology, we provide care to pregnant women who use illegal drugs and prescribe PrEP therapy to those with multiple unprotected sexual partners. We don’t insert personal bias or value judgments into patient care. We try very hard to do exactly the opposite.

Our job is to counsel patients on the risks of their life choices. We do not deny care to those who live their lives in ways differently than we do even if we find certain choices morally offensive. 

Patient care is about the patient. Not the provider.

Multiple medical organizations are speaking out. So far, the Arkansas law is opposed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Medical Association, the National Association of Social Workers, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, and the American College of Emergency Physicians. Other organizations are likely to oppose the law as well. 

This statement by the Arkansas Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers summarizes the general consensus saying, “no patient should ever be obstructed from receiving legal healthcare based solely on a provider’s personal values.”

Arkansas legislators and Governor Hutchinson must know this law will be challenged in court. Let’s hope the court remembers when it comes to patient care, the patient always comes first. 

The post The Anti-LGBTQ Arkansas Health Law is Dangerous for All of Us appeared first on Medika Life.