Florida to Prohibit Medicaid Coverage for 'Gender-Affirming' Care

The state of Florida published a new rule on Wednesday that will prohibit Medicaid from covering “gender-affirming” care.

The rule, 59G-1.050, published by Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration is scheduled to take effect Aug. 21.

“Providers must inform a recipient of his or her responsibility to pay for services that are not covered by Florida Medicaid, and document in the recipient’s file that the recipient was informed of his or her liability, prior to rendering each service,” the rule reads. It then outlines the different types of care not covered by Medicaid, including several kinds of “gender-affirming” treatment.

(7) Gender Dysphoria.
(a) Florida Medicaid does not cover the following services for the treatment of gender dysphoria:
1. Puberty blockers;
2. Hormones and hormone antagonists;
3. Sex reassignment surgeries; and
4. Any other procedures that alter primary or secondary sexual characteristics.

LGBT+ advocacy group Lambda Legal told The Washington Post they are “exploring all options” to challenge the rule.

Townhall covered earlier this month that the Florida Board of Medicine was considering a proposal from the state’s Department of Health to block physicians from providing “gender-affirming” care to children who identify as “transgender.” Florida’s Department of Health previously came out against “gender-affirming” care for children, including letting minors “socially” transition.

“Only a minority of children who are diagnosed with gender dysphoria remain gender dysphoric as adults,” the proposal from the Department of Health stated. “There is a lack of quality evidence and certainly no conclusive research to support the medical transition of children to the opposite gender as a treatment for gender dysphoria.”

It’s Sunday morning and the State of FL DOH has released their disgusting proposed transphobic rule that would BAN access to gender affirming care for those under the age of 18 & create restrictions for adults too. pic.twitter.com/1oW2ImTR4n
— Rep. Anna V. Eskamani ?? (@AnnaForFlorida) July 31, 2022

Last month, during a hearing on 59G-1.050, a 17-year-old girl from California who is de-transitioning spoke out in support of the rule, which Townhall covered.

At age 12, Cole decided she was transgender. She began transitioning at age 13 and underwent a double mastectomy at age 15. At 17, she began to de-transition.

“I really didn’t understand all of the ramifications of any of the medical decisions that I was making,” Cole said during the hearing. “I was unknowingly physically cutting off my true self from my body, irreversibly and painfully.”

Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo posted a video of Cole sharing her story on Twitter.

Florida doesn’t support the medicalization of minors with GD because the benefits are unproven, and the risks are extraordinarily high.

Chloe was treated with puberty blockers and testosterone at the age of 13. @ChoooCole was courageous enough to share her story with us. pic.twitter.com/vL8SF5BH0o
— Joseph A. Ladapo, MD, PhD (@FLSurgeonGen) July 10, 2022

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to fully carry a child and I might be at increased risk for certain cancers, namely, cervical cancer,” Cole said. “I’m not able to breastfeed whatever future children I have.”

“That realization actually was one of the biggest things that led to me realizing that this was not the path I should have taken,” she added.

Cole told Fox News Digital after the hearing that parents should not transition their children.

"If you are considering transitioning, please wait until you are a fully developed adult," Cole told Fox. "Transitioning can damage your body and mind in ways that we may not fully understand."

The Florida Department of Health’s guidance issued in April against “gender-affirming” care for minors came as a response to a fact sheet published by the Biden administration that promoted this type of healthcare for children.

In a news release, Ladapo said “the federal government’s medical establishment releasing guidance [failed] at the most basic level of academic rigor shows that this was never about health care."

“It was about injecting political ideology into the health of our children. Children experiencing gender dysphoria should be supported by family and seek counseling, not pushed into an irreversible decision before they reach 18,” he added.