Yesterday, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that it will pursue policies to cut off funding and access to medically necessary care for transgender youth. The proposed regulations would prevent states from using federal Medicaid funds to pay for gender-affirming care for people under 18 and would also ban the use of federal …
Yesterday, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that it will pursue policies to cut off funding and access to medically necessary care for transgender youth.
The proposed regulations would prevent states from using federal Medicaid funds to pay for gender-affirming care for people under 18 and would also ban the use of federal Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) funds for this care for individuals under 19.
Although the restriction applies only to federal dollars, states would still have the option to cover these services using state funds that are separate from federally matched Medicaid or CHIP programs.
The following is a statement by Matthew Blinstrubas, Executive Director of Equality Connecticut:
Yesterday’s announcements continue this administration’s attacks on transgender youth, in cruel words and slash-and-burn policies. Their misrepresentations and distortions of science, medicine, and of reality itself are confounding and must be challenged.
Make no mistake, this is about all of us. If the federal government can rip away necessary, evidence-based care from one group, it will come after the next: people seeking reproductive care, those living with or hoping to avoid HIV/AIDS, folks trying to build families through IVF, parents seeking vaccines for their children – the list goes on. Bodily autonomy is not divisible.
Here in Connecticut, we have specific protections for transgender adolescent health care, which provide safeguards regardless of federal policy. In fact, our own Attorney General, William Tong, reinforced this: “Nothing changes today, and gender-affirming care remains legal and protected in Connecticut.”
But we can’t be complacent. Equality Connecticut stands ready to do all we can to protect and defend the health and wellbeing of transgender youth, using every tool at our disposal: legislation, education, conversations with family and friends, kindness, and moral imagination.
The first action step is for all of us to comment on the proposed rules. Equality Connecticut will distribute a toolkit for commenting soon. In the meantime, the proposed rules can be viewed online:
Funding Restriction Proposed Regulation
Conditions of Participation Proposed Regulation
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Equality Connecticut is a queer-led organization dedicated to advancing the rights, health, safety, and culture of Connecticut’s LGBTQIA+ community. Grounded in the values of intersectionality and social justice, we champion progressive change, uplift queer voices, celebrate our vibrant culture, and organize statewide community-building and education efforts that empower and unite.
