Illinois Department of Insurance Director Robert Muriel joined 17 Commissioners representing tens of millions of American insurance consumers in a letter just sent to U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar, urging him to protect rules that address unfair treatment of transgender consumers. The letter states that changes proposed by the Trump Administration will undermine civil rights protections for millions of consumers, create an uneven playing field for health insurers and negatively affect state insurance markets. The proposed changes affect Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, which prohibits sex discrimination in health insurance and clarifies protections for transgender Americans from being denied lifesaving, medically necessary care. On May 24, 2019 the Trump Administration proposed regulations that seek to roll back protections that ensure equal protection from discrimination by insurers and providers. The signatories of this letter explain that this proposed rule attempts to give health insurers and providers license to discriminate against transgender policyholders and will have a significant negative impact on a community that is already vulnerable to discrimination in health care, housing and employment.