Senator Murray Criticizes Trump Health Department’s New, “Extreme Ideological Roadmap”

Last year, Senator Murray and Senate Democrats sent a letter voicing concerns with the draft strategic plan issued by the Department

Department’s final plan fails to address key issues raised by the Senators

Plan retains ideological language and priorities

Plan makes no mention of LGBTQ populations and fails to address health issues in relation to sexual orientation

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released the following statement in response to the final Strategic Plan for 2018-2022 published by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

“The Trump-Pence Administration has finalized an extreme, ideological roadmap that undermines access to quality care for patients and families nationwide—especially women, the LGBTQ community, and vulnerable communities. From emphasizing ideology over science and evidence, to removing any mention of LGBTQ health needs, to doubling down on health care sabotage and political attacks on women’s health—this plan is completely counter to the Department’s mission in fundamental ways.”  

The mission of HHS is to "enhance the health and well-being of Americans,” but the final version of the Department’s Strategic Plan suggests that HHS is no longer protecting the health of women, LGBTQ individuals, racial and ethnic minorities, and other vulnerable populations:

• The plan advances ideological viewpoints over science-based programs and health care, including health care for women
• The plan entirely eliminates references to LGBTQ individuals, including when discussing health disparities, healthy marriages, and teen and youth relationships
• Though the final plan reinstates references to partnerships with tribes in nationwide health promotion, the plan only mentions evidence of disparities among the American Indian/Alaska Native populations—not among any other populations
• The plan’s discussion of health disparities is focused solely on socioeconomic status and economic self-sufficiency rather than race, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity
• The plan emphasizes the Department’s efforts to continue to ignore federal consumer protections, sabotage our health care system, and expand “junk” short-term plans that don’t protect people with pre-existing conditions

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