Amendment added to House Bill 1388 specifically targets low-income trans youth

NEW YORK – GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization today condemned the Pennsylvania Senate for passing the state’s Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) reauthorization legislation with an amendment aimed at denying lower-income Pennsylvania transgender youth under the age of 19 full access to transition-related healthcare.

“Instead of addressing the alarming rates of discrimination and harassment faced by transgender youth, Pennsylvania lawmakers are assuming the role of bullies by promoting fear-mongering myths about trans healthcare from the floor of the Senate,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD. “Science and medicine have repeatedly deemed transition related care to be medically necessary, and blocking low-income transgender youth from full access to this vital care is cruel and unconscionable.”

The violently anti-trans sentiment at the core of this harmful amendment was clear in the original draft, which would have slashed all access to transition related care, including counseling. As passed, the amendment was changed to only deny access to surgery. While surgical care is not often prescribed for youth, there are circumstances where this form of healthcare is deemed medically necessary for trans individuals under the age of 19, which is why “surgical services” are currently listed as a benefit in the PA CHIP Eligibly and Benefits Handbook by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services.

Transgender and gender-nonconforming Pennsylvanians in grades K-12 have reported disturbingly high rates of harassment (74%), physical assault (23%) and sexual violence (9%). Amendments such as this one, pushed by Republican state Sen. Donald White, only further feeds the stigma and fear that promotes bullying, harassment and violence that transgender people experience. Lack of access to treatment for gender dysphonia can also lead to depression, anxiety, and suicidality.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Current language of the Pennsylvania CHIP Eligibility and Benefits Handbook:

“Gender Transition:  Federal Final Rule “Nondiscrimination in Health Programs and Activities” prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in health-related insurance and other health-related coverage.  Coverage related to gender affirming services that otherwise fall within the beneficiary’s scope of covered CHIP benefits (e.g. physician’s services, inpatient and outpatient hospital services, surgical services, prescribed drugs, therapies, etc.) will be compensable under the CHIP program when deemed medically necessary.  Medical necessity is to be determined utilizing the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (www.WPATH.org) Standard of Care guidelines and any successor WPATH guidelines. Sex specific health care cannot be denied or limited because the person seeking services identifies as belonging to another gender. For example; a provider may not deny an individual gynecological services such as pap smears based on identification as a transgender male.”