New York Passes State Budget With No Funds to Support Access to Transgender Care

Trump’s second-term administration has attacked hospitals providing gender-affirming care for transgender youth, disrupting access to treatment. Advocates have urged blue states to fund care directly, including New York, where lawmakers were pushed to create a dedicated gender-affirming care fund to help outpatient providers absorb patients abandoned by hospitals. The urgency increased as New York City also failed to deliver on promises to fund gender-affirming care and hold hospitals accountable. After the state budget passed, it includes zero dollars for the priorities advocates sought. NYCLU policy counsel expressed disappointment and urged urgent action to restore New York’s role by codifying insurance coverage requirements and strengthening health care anti-discrimination protections.

"Since Trump took office for his second term, his administration's attacks on hospitals that provide gender-affirming care for transgender youth have significantly disrupted that care. In response, advocates have pushed blue states that claim to support transgender people to step in and fund care directly. That has been especially true in New York, where advocates spent the legislative session pushing for a dedicated gender-affirming care fund - an access program designed to help outpatient providers absorb the patients pushed out of hospitals that abandoned care."

"The need has grown more urgent as New York City, whose mayor made his own promises to fund gender-affirming care and hold hospitals that capitulate accountable, has likewise failed to deliver for the transgender community. Now the state budget has passed, and it contains exactly zero dollars for the critical priorities advocates spent months asking for."

""As the Trump administration continues to pose an existential threat to the transgender community, we are profoundly disappointed that the FY2027 New York State budget invests zero state dollars to support access to the health care many transgender, gender non-conforming, nonbinary, and intersex people rely on to live in their bodies with dignity and health - a complete failure to meet the moment," said Allie Bohm, NYCLU senior policy counsel about the lack of passage."

""We urge our lawmakers and the Governor to take urgent action to restore New York's reputation as a beacon for gender-affirming care access by codifying New York's insurance coverage requirement for gender-affirming care, strengthening our health care anti-discriminati""

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