Overview
- State lawmakers, who held a budget hearing Monday, considered creating a $26 million fund to stabilize access to gender-affirming care.
- The discussion follows December actions by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that labeled some treatments unsafe or non‑essential and proposed blocking youth services in Medicare and Medicaid.
- California previously set aside $15 million and legislators now floated a state coverage backstop along with using CalRx, the state’s low‑cost drug program, to secure hormones and puberty blockers if federal support falters.
- Providers reported concrete strain, citing the shutdown of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles’ pediatric program that had served nearly 3,000 patients and staffing and contracting hits at Lyon‑Martin Community Health Services.
- Dozens of advocacy groups urged approval, critics including Women Are Real and some Republicans called for wider evidence, and the choice will be folded into budget talks ahead of the June 15 deadline.