California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus Denounces Trump Administration’s Medicaid/CHIP Rule, Calls for State-Only Billing Pathway to Protect Continuity of Health Care

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus Denounces Trump Administration’s Medicaid/CHIP Rule, Calls for State-Only Billing Pathway to Protect Continuity of Health Care

SACRAMENTO, CA — The California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus issued the following statement in response to the Trump Administration finalizing a rule that bars federal Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) funding for medically necessary transgender health care: 

“Yesterday, the Trump Administration has once again put politics ahead of patients by barring federal Medicaid and CHIP funding for medically necessary gender-affirming health care for transgender youth.

Transgender youth deserve the same access to health care as every other young person. Decisions about health care should be made by patients, their parents, and their doctors – not politicians.

This cruel policy will make it harder for families to access medically necessary health care and will disproportionately harm low-income families who rely on Medicaid and CHIP for their health coverage. It is deeply troubling to see the federal government use its power to interfere with the doctor-patient-family relationship and take away access to care that leading medical professionals recognize as necessary.

California must meet this moment with action. The LGBTQ Caucus applauded the state’s $26 million investment to stabilize and expand California’s gender-affirming care provider network through provider support, workforce recruitment and retention, clinic infrastructure, operational assistance for providers absorbing displaced patients, and malpractice insurance support. However, we were unable to secure the $1 million set-aside we sought to establish a state-only Medi-Cal coverage and billing pathway for gender-affirming health care. 

That state-only pathway would help ensure continuity of care for transgender Californians regardless of federal funding restrictions and, with today’s action by the Trump Administration, it is needed now more than ever. We look forward to working with our legislative colleagues and the Administration to secure this pathway before the end of the 2026 legislative session. California must ensure that federal attacks on health care do not become barriers to care for transgender young people and their families here in our state.”

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About the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus

California’s Legislative LGBTQ Caucus was formed in 2002 to create a forum for California Legislators to discuss issues that affect LGBTQ Californians and to further the goal of equality and justice for all Californians. California became the first state in the United States to officially form a caucus of openly-LGBTQ state legislators and continues to be a leader of progress for all Americans. In 2023, our membership hit a new milestone of 12 members, becoming one of the largest LGBTQ Caucus in the Nation, and continues to remain strong. Despite tremendous progress and an unprecedented swell of support for the LGBTQ community worldwide, there is still much work to do to protect and uplift the most vulnerable in our community. The LGBTQ Caucus strives to advocate for diversity and inclusion of all people, including differently abled bodies. Our Caucus is working diligently to support LGBTQ leaders that represent our community at the local, state, and federal levels.

For more information on the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus, please visit https://lgbtqcaucus.legislature.ca.gov/ 

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