{"id":51422,"date":"2022-08-12T18:19:14","date_gmt":"2022-08-13T01:19:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=51422"},"modified":"2022-08-15T08:19:42","modified_gmt":"2022-08-15T15:19:42","slug":"florida-to-bar-medicaid-coverage-for-gender-affirming-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=51422","title":{"rendered":"Florida to bar Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming care"},"content":{"rendered":"

Transgender Medicaid recipients in Florida will no longer be able to use Medicaid to cover gender-affirming health care under a new state rule that will take effect later this month.<\/p>\n

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The rule\u00a0published Wednesday<\/a>\u00a0by Florida\u2019s Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA), which controls most of the state\u2019s Medicaid program, eliminates coverage for gender-affirming health care for transgender Floridians of all ages. It will go into effect Aug. 21.<\/p>\n

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Under the rule, Florida residents will no longer be allowed to use Medicaid to help pay for puberty blockers, hormones, gender-affirming surgeries or \u201cany other procedures that alter primary or secondary sexual characteristics\u201d when those procedures are used to treat gender dysphoria.<\/p>\n

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Advocates outraged:<\/strong>\u00a0In a\u00a0joint statement<\/a>\u00a0on Thursday, Lambda Legal, the Southern Legal Counsel, the Florida Health Justice Project and the National Health Law Program called the move \u201cmedically and scientifically unsound\u201d and said it was politically motivated.<\/p>\n