1. United States
2. N.Y.
3. Letter

I am writing to demand that you VOTE NO on any version of the spending bill that strips Medicaid and exchange-plan insurance coverage for gender-affirming care for adults. This provision cruelly targets transgender individuals for no other reason than their sex, their transgender status, and Republican lawmakers’ bare desire to harm a minority group. The policy change could have devastating consequences for transgender people across the United States and is likely to clash with state laws that mandate insurance coverage for gender-affirming care. According to the UCLA Williams Institute (https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/press/trans-adults-medicaid-press-release/), more than 152,000 transgender Americans currently rely on Medicaid for their care. Stripping that coverage would make surgeries cost-prohibitive for many, with procedures often running into the tens of thousands of dollars. Even routine hormone therapy and necessary bloodwork could become financially out of reach. For countless trans adults, this would mean either turning to unsafe alternative care or being forcibly taken off treatment—a process known as medical detransition. The effects can be severe, particularly for those who’ve already undergone surgery and require ongoing hormone supplementation, putting both mental and physical health at serious risk. Stripping vital healthcare from a vulnerable community is reason enough to oppose this provision. But we also must recognize this for what it is: an attack on all LGBTQ+ Americans. Republicans have shown that they will not stop at harming transgender individuals: they have publicly expressed a desire to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges and to ban schools from teaching any materials involving. LGBTQ+ people. Make no mistake: these are efforts to harm a small and politically vulnerable group for political expediency, based on deliberate misinformation and rank bigotry, and is an effort to eliminate LGBTQ+ people from public life in our pluralist democracy. It is far easier to hold the line NOW, when these attacks are beginning, rather than waiting until things are worse. Please protect your constituents, the Constitution, and the rule of law, and vote NO on this harmful, cruel provision.