Remind State Health Providers of Their Obligation to Provide Care for All Residents

I am writing to urge you to take immediate action to ensure that healthcare providers in our state fulfill their legal and ethical obligations to provide medically necessary care to all residents, including transgender youth seeking gender-affirming treatment. Across the country, hospitals are beginning to restrict access to gender-affirming care in what advocates are calling "pre-compliance" with federal threats that have not materialized into actual enforcement. In Illinois, Lurie Children's Hospital recently announced it will no longer initiate gender-affirming medications for new patients under age 18, citing a January 15th referral for investigation by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. As Trans Up Front Illinois has noted, no hospital system has lost federal funding, no court has ruled, and no law has changed. Yet hospitals are preemptively denying care based on threats alone. This pattern is creating chaos for families who depend on access to evidence-based medical care. Lurie had already stopped providing gender-affirming surgeries for patients under age 19 in February, and many patients referred to Northwestern Memorial Hospital subsequently had their appointments canceled. These decisions have real consequences for vulnerable youth who need continuity of care. Brian Johnson, CEO of Equality Illinois, stated that denying care to trans patients may represent a failure to provide medically appropriate care and could potentially violate state law. Gender-affirming care is essential, evidence-based, and life-saving. Any rollback of such services puts vulnerable youth at risk. I urge you to clarify that healthcare providers in our state have a legal obligation under state law to provide medically necessary care to all patients regardless of gender identity. State officials should investigate whether hospitals denying this care are violating their duty to patients and should provide guidance protecting providers from federal intimidation tactics that threaten patient welfare. Our state must stand firm in protecting access to healthcare for all residents.