North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein announced yesterday he is joining 23 other state Attorneys General in a lawsuit against the US Department of Health & Human Services to stop a rule making it easier for health care providers and insurance companies to discriminate against protected classes of Americans.

The lawsuit argues that the new rule would allow providers to discriminate against the LGBTQ+ community as well as those with limited English proficiency by stripping protections included in the Affordable Care Act.

NCDP Chair and former State Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin released the following statement:

“President Trump has made it clear that he and his administration will stop at nothing to dismantle the Affordable Care Act and the health care protections it provides to millions of North Carolinians. This backwards proposal would allow insurance companies to deny coverage to protected Americans in the midst of a global pandemic when millions have already lost their health insurance. North Carolinians are fortunate to have an Attorney General like Josh Stein to fight back against the mean-spirited and dangerous health care agenda being pushed by the Trump administration.”