New regulations regarding hospital visitation rights for the LGBT community and their families went into effect yesterday.

Under the new protocol, hospitals partaking in Medicare and Medicaid must allow all patients to decide visitation rights, as well as who to entrust with making medical decisions on their behalf, regardless of sexual or gender identity.

"This policy impact millions of LGBT Americans and their families. The President saw an injustice and felt very strongly about correcting this and has spoken about it often over the years," White House deputy director of public engagementBrian Bond wrote on the White House blog.

President of Human Rights Campain, Joe Solmonese expressed gratitude for President Obama and his administration taking action on changing this policy.

"LGBT people experience discrimination in many aspects of their lives, but it is perhaps at its worst during times of crisis," Solomonese said. "We thank President Obama and HHS Secretary Sebelius for recognizing the hardships LGBT people face and taking this important step toward ensuring that no one will be turned away from a partner's hospital bedside again."

New LGBT-Friendly Hospital Visitation Regulations Go Into Effect.