1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

Democrats must reject the premise of trans healthcare bans in republican healthcare offer. Republicans new healthcare bill would bar transgender healthcare as an essential health benefit, bar trans medicaid coverage, and would bar HSAs from considering trans healthcare medically necessary. Democrats continue to be told by conservative forces within the party that transgender people can and must be sacrificed to achieve other policy goals and secure political victories. They must not listen. Transgender people, their families, other LGBTQ+ people, and allies make up a significant share of the Democratic base. Many work or volunteer on campaigns, organize within the party, and are among its most loyal voters—a reflection of how profoundly public policy shapes their lives. Throwing rights under the bus would be a direct insult to the very communities that have fought hardest for the progressive goals Democrats claim to champion. Please continue to stand for all people, including trans people and their families.