Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc., acknowledged Thursday, March 18, that the pro-gay provisions she sought in the health care reform legislation have not survived.
But Baldwin also said, during an interview in Boston last weekend, that she has counted the votes in the House on two major pro-gay pieces of legislation and believes the votes for passage are there.
Baldwin had sought and secured four pro-gay provisions in the original House version of health care reform, including a prohibition on discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in health care.
But neither the Senate bill nor President Obama’s proposal late last month included those provisions. Baldwin had held out hope, as late as Thursday morning, that at least two of the provisions might be added back under whatever legislative package the House and Senate would eventually vote on.
But by Thursday afternoon, when the text of that final package was posted on the Internet, that hope was quashed.
The version of health care reform legislation being considered now by Congress - with the final critical votes scheduled to begin this weekend - does include some relief for people with HIV on Medicare who must purchase expensive AIDS-related medications.
But it does not include the anti-discrimination provision or three others. Those others included the “Early Treatment for HIV Act,” which sought to allow states to provide Medicaid coverage to low-income HIV positive individuals; the Tax Equity for Health Plan Beneficiaries Act, which sought to end the tax for gay employees whose partners/spouses are covered under their work health insurance coverage; and a provision to collect data toward ending disparities in health care for LGBT people.
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