Florida Medicaid regulator sides against including gender-affirming care
politico.comArek Sarkissian 06/03/2022 08:58 AM EDT Link CopiedTALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida’s Medicaid regulator has determined that taxpayer-subsidized health coverage should not include transition-related medical care for the treatment of gender dysphoria, or the feeling of discomfort or distress some transgender people experience when their bodies don’t align with their gender.What happened: Tom Wallace, the deputy secretary for Medicaid at the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, submitted a report on Thursday that claims there was no evidence showing that gender-affirming care is a safe and effective way to treat gender dysphoria.“Rather, the available evidence demonstrates that these treatments cause irreversible physical changes and side effects that can affect long-term health,” the AHCA report states.Medical associations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association, support gender-affirming care for adults and adolescents.But medical experts said gender-affirming care for children rarely, if ever, includes surgery.
Instead, doctors are more likely to recommend counseling, social transitioning and hormone replacement therapy.Wallace assembled the report at the request of AHCA Secretary Simone Marstiller, who asked for a recommendation on whether transition-related medical care should be covered by the state’s $36.2 billion Medicaid program.
The 40-plus page report follows a memo written by state Surgeon General Joseph A. Ladapo in April, which warned against treating children with gender-affirming care.
Like Wallace, Ladapo also determined there was not enough evidence to declare the procedures as safe for children.Breaking it down: The AHCA report includes a review of.
