Protect all people’s access to essential health care

The so-called “Health Care Freedom for Patients Act of 2025” (S.3386) contains numerous dangerous prohibitions that seek to gut access to essential transition-related health care and abortion care. Reject any version of this bill that seeks to codify health care discrimination against transgender, nonbinary, and intersex people and immigrants and their families under the Affordable Care Act, including: Prohibiting the coverage of evidence-based transition-related health care as an Essential Health Benefit for ACA Exchange Plans (Section 301); Prohibiting the use of federal funds to cover evidence-based health care under the Medicaid and CHIP programs (Section 302); Prohibiting the use of HAS funds for abortion cares and transition-related healthcare (Section 101); Eliminating abortion care from cost-sharing payments (Section 103); and Endorsing the performance of non-consensual surgical procedures on intersex youth and infants (Sections 301 and 302). Transgender people across the country already suffer severe geographic and economic barriers to accessing timely medically necessary health care and continuing to face increasing discrimination in employment and education. The gender-affirming and reproductive health care targeted by this bill is supported by decades of peer-reviewed evidence. Transition-related health care has been shown to reduce rates of depression, anxiety, substance abuse, disordered eating, and suicidality among trans people. This health care has the support of nearly every major medical association. It has been safely provided in an age-appropriate manner and has been rigorously studied for the last 4+ decades at least. As described by one of the most rigorous systematic reviews to date on the subject, conducted by the Utah Department of Health and Human Services: Policies to prevent access to and use of gender-affirming care for treatment of gender dysphoria in pediatric patients cannot be justified based on the quantity or quality of medical science findings or concerns about potential regret in the future, and high-quality guidelines are available to guide qualified providers in treating pediatric patients who meet diagnostic criteria. GAHT (gender-affirming hormone treatment) in pediatric GD patients is generally effective in terms of mental health, psychosocial outcomes, and/or producing the desired body changes [and] are generally safe in terms of cardiovascular risk factors, metabolic changes, bone health, and/or cancer. Senators must reject legislative attempts to endanger the health and safety of anyone. I urge you to Vote NO on this and any similar bills.