Becca Balint Introduces Trans Health Care Bill
Balint's bill would educate medical providers about how to provide gender-affirming care to transgender patients.
U.S. Rep. Becca Balint has introduced a bill to protect and expand access to gender-affirming care for transgender individuals at a time when the Trump administration is seeking to restrict the practice.
The Vermont Democrat’s bill — the Transgender Health Care Access Act — establishes grants to support medical education programs and professional training in transition-related care, and to expand access to such services in rural communities.
She introduced the bill on March 31, coinciding with Transgender Day of Visibility.
The congresswoman noted in a news release that in a survey of students at 10 medical schools, nearly 4 in 5 students did not feel competent at treating transgender patients suffering from gender dysphoria.
As a result, there is a need to educate future medical providers about issues they may encounter at some point in their professional careers.
The bill would allocate $10 million annually to fund the grants, which seek to address the lack of education around — and familiarity with — transgender health issues. The ensuing research would be distributed by the National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health in collaboration with medical education accrediting organizations.
Entities eligible for such grants include teaching hospitals or health centers, federally qualified health centers, community mental health centers, rural health clinics, health centers serving indigenous American populations, and certain state agencies.
Under the bill, the Secretary of Health would be required to issue a report detailing the programs and activities that the grants are funding, how those programs have improved health equity for transgender people, and offering recommendations for improving access to gender-affirming care.
The bill explicitly excludes funding from being used for conversion therapy.
According to a survey by the Center for American Progress and the research group NORC at the University of Chicago, approximately 12% of transgender people were subjected to conversion therapy efforts at some point in their lives.
The proposed legislation has nearly 30 Democratic co-sponsors. It is being supported by a number of LGBTQ and civil rights advocacy groups, including Advocates for Trans Equality, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Center for American Progress, the Human Rights Campaign, The Trevor Project, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights.
Given that Republicans — who have made opposition to transgender identity a part of their brand — control both chambers of Congress, it is unlikely Balint’s bill will gain any traction, much less an up-or-down vote.
But she said it was important to introduce the legislation, which comes after President Donald Trump issued an executive order prohibiting institutions that receive federal funds from spending that money on gender-affirming treatments to anyone under the age of 19. That order has been temporarily blocked by two separate courts.
“Republicans are obsessed with attacking trans people,” Balint, one of 14 out LGBTQ congressional lawmakers, said in a news release. “It’s dangerous. Over and over again they use messages designed to get Americans to fear one another and to divide us. But I want queer and trans Americans to know you have fighters and allies in Congress.
“As Republicans use their power to take away health care and continue to attack and dehumanize trans folks, I’m not standing down,” the co-chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus continued. “That’s why I’m introducing this bill to expand access and train more providers. It’s critical that trans Americans have access to appropriate and quality care no matter where they live.”
Balint’s bill serves as a counter to anti-transgender legislation being pushed by Republicans in recent years.
Earlier this month, U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) introduced a measure to block hospitals providing gender-affirming treatments, like hormones or puberty blockers, from being eligible to participate in the Children’s Hospital Graduate Medical Education Payment program, which funds education and training for pediatric medical residents and fellows.
In past years, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has introduced legislation seeking to criminalize doctors who provide gender-affirming treatments or services to transgender youth, mirroring laws that have been passed in 27 states.
The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard a challenge against a ban in Tennessee, and is expected to issue a decision later this spring on whether state-level bans on gender-affirming care are unconstitutional, discriminatory, or infringe on parental rights.
Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen, executive director of Advocates for Trans Equality, praised Balint’s bill as necessary for transgender individuals seeking care for gender dysphoria.
“This bill is an affirmative declaration of the importance of this care as a legitimate and valued public health priority — and one worthy of investment,” Heng-Lehtinen said. “It firmly declares that this care is a crucial and medically necessary aspect of healthcare delivery, which must be prioritized in order to properly serve patients.”
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