Yesterday, the Campaign for Southern Equality submitted public comments condemning two proposed rules that would drastically impact youth access to gender-affirming care nationwide. We want to thank the transgender people, healthcare professionals, parents, and allies who stood with transgender youth and submitted their own public comments. We will not allow healthcare access to be stripped away without a fight. And no matter what, our Trans Youth Emergency Project will continue to do the work of assisting families of trans youth impacted by restrictions on gender-affirming care continue to access this lifesaving care. Learn more about the Trans Youth Emergency Project: transyouthemergencyproject.org.
Read our full public comments:
MEDICAID AND CHIP FUNDING RESTRICTIONS COMMENT
Campaign for Southern Equality
Submitted via: www.regulations.gov
Re: Comment on 42 CFR Parts 441 and 457 – Opposition to Proposed Rule
To the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) & the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS),
On behalf of the Campaign for Southern Equality, we strongly oppose the proposed changes outlined in 42 CFR Parts 441 and 457, which would disallow Medicaid and CHIP from covering gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youth in low-income families. As an organization rooted in the South and committed to advancing LGBTQ+ equality, we are well aware that access to affordable gender-affirming care is essential for the health and wellbeing of transgender youth. Gender-affirming care is safe, evidence-based healthcare, and is supported by every major medical organization in the United States, including the American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association, and World Professional Association for Transgender Health. Despite this, 27 states have passed bans on gender-affirming care for youth, and 14 states exclude gender-affirming healthcare from coverage under Medicaid and CHIP. These proposed policies seek to intrude upon the privacy of families and their right to make private health care decisions in consultation with their physicians.
At the Campaign for Southern Equality, we don’t have to imagine the negative impacts of a rule such as this – because we’ve already seen the negative impacts of similar state-level policies in the communities that we serve. Parents and guardians of transgender youth living in states with restrictions on gender-affirming care access are being faced with the reality that their insurance will not cover care and the closest provider is across state lines, potentially hundreds of miles away. Over the past three years, thousands of families have been forced to discontinue their child’s ongoing care with an established provider due to the passage of state-gender-affirming care bans.
As families struggle to access care for their children, parents often describe seeing children’s mental health deteriorate. Research has shown that receiving gender-affirming care significantly decreases suicidality, improves mental health, and increases transgender youths’ ability to engage in day-to-day activities. Abruptly losing access to this care is detrimental to the mental health and wellbeing of transgender youth.
Prohibiting Medicaid and CHIP from covering gender-affirming care for youth will make accessing gender-affirming care more difficult and expensive for low-income families who are already struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living. Should this rule go into effect, we know many impacted families will make sacrifices and rearrange their lives to make sure their child has access to the care they need. We fear others will not be able to overcome the financial barriers to care, and their children’s health will suffer greatly. We urge CMS/HHS to protect trans health by rejecting this harmful proposal.
Sincerely,
The Campaign for Southern Equality
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HOSPITAL CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION
Campaign for Southern Equality
Submitted via: www.regulations.gov
Re: Comment on 42 CFR Part 482 – Opposition to Proposed Rule
To the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) & the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS),
On behalf of the Campaign for Southern Equality, we strongly oppose the proposed changes outlined in 42 CFR Part 482 which would disallow hospitals that participate in federal insurance programs like Medicaid and Medicare from providing gender-affirming care for transgender people under 18. As an organization rooted in the South and committed to advancing LGBTQ+ equality, we are well aware that access to affordable gender-affirming care is essential for the health and wellbeing of transgender youth. Gender-affirming care is safe, evidence-based healthcare, and is supported by every major medical organization in the United States, including the American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association, and World Professional Association for Transgender Health. Despite this, 27 states have passed bans on gender-affirming care for youth, and 14 states exclude gender-affirming healthcare from coverage under Medicaid and CHIP. These proposed policies seek to intrude upon the privacy of families and their right to make private health care decisions in consultation with their physicians.
At the Campaign for Southern Equality, we don’t have to imagine the negative impacts of a rule such as this – because we’ve already seen the negative impacts of similar state-level policies in the communities that we serve. Parents and guardians of transgender youth living in states with restrictions on gender-affirming care access are being faced with the reality that their insurance will not cover care and the closest provider is across state lines, potentially hundreds of miles away. Over the past three years, thousands of families have been forced to discontinue their child’s ongoing care with an established provider due to the passage of state-gender-affirming care bans.
As families struggle to access care for their children, parents often describe seeing children’s mental health deteriorate. Research has shown that receiving gender-affirming care significantly decreases suicidality, improves mental health, and increases transgender youths’ ability to engage in day-to-day activities. Abruptly losing access to this care is detrimental to the mental health and wellbeing of transgender youth.
Prohibiting hospitals that participate in federal insurance programs from providing gender-affirming care to youth will make care more expensive and difficult to access by pushing families to private providers. Should this rule go into effect, we know many impacted families will make sacrifices and rearrange their lives to make sure their child has access to the care they need. We fear others will not be able to overcome the financial barriers to care, and their children’s health will suffer greatly. We urge CMS/HHS to protect trans health by rejecting this harmful proposal.
Sincerely,
The Campaign for Southern Equality
