Florida Seeks to Exclude Medicaid Coverage of All Gender-Affirming Care for Transgender Floridians
Southern Legal Counsel, Florida Health Justice Project, Lambda Legal, and National Health Law Program lead the opposition
On June 17, 2022, the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) issued a Notice of Proposed Rule for a new rule that would deny Medicaid coverage for all medically necessary gender-affirming care for both youth and adults. Southern Legal Counsel, Florida Health Justice Project, Lambda Legal, and National Health Law Program are engaging in and carefully monitoring the rule-making process, and you can read their statements and obtain more information at ProtectFLtranshealth.org.
On the microsite created by these state and national LGBTQ+ and health policy organizations, you can also:
Submit a Comment in opposition to the rule before the comment period ends on July 8th, 2022;
Share Your Story to help us learn more and develop a legal challenge to this discriminatory rule; and
Learn more about the Public Hearing on July 8th in Tallahassee, where you can provide in-person testimony and join advocates from across the state to show your support for trans healthcare.
The Proposed Rule is the product of the DeSantis administration’s clear intent to limit access to medically necessary care for Florida’s transgender community. It follows the issuance of “Guidelines” by the Florida Department of Health on April 20, 2022, opposing access to gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth, including social transitioning. Next, the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) published a scientifically-flawed, politically-motivated GAPMS (Generally Accepted Professional Medical Standards) Report questioning the efficacy and safety of gender-affirming medical care, in direct conflict with well-established and widely-accepted medical guidelines as well as the opinions of every major medical association in the United States. You can read more about the widely debunked information relied upon by the state of Florida in forcing through this discriminatory rule by reading the HRC Report.
The Florida Department of Health’s original “Guidelines” were issued in direct response to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Guidance on treating gender dysphoria in children and adolescents, which relies on carefully and deliberately considered studies, expert opinions, and national guidelines.
While the Notice of the Proposed Rule seemingly carries forward AHCA’s discriminatory intent forward, at this time, it remains true that:
AHCA’s rulemaking and report do not currently prevent any doctor in Florida from providing medically necessary and essential medical care to transgender patients;
Private health insurance must still cover medically necessary gender-affirming care; and
No finalized rulemaking has occurred. Therefore, Florida Medicaid still should provide coverage and reimbursement for medically necessary gender-affirming care.
If you your child are a transgender Florida Medicaid participant and stand to lose coverage for your medically necessary gender-affirming care, we want to hear from you! Please contact Southern Legal Counsel, Florida Health Justice Project, Lambda Legal, and National Health Law Program to share your story at www.protectFLtranshealth.org or write to Simone Chriss, Director of the Transgender Rights Initiative at Southern Legal Counsel, at simone.chriss@southernlegal.org.
