New investments will connect New Yorkers to care, support providers and fund research amid escalating federal attacks on transgender communities
Today, Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani announced three major new initiatives to safeguard and expand access to gender-affirming care for youth and adults across New York City. The initiatives represent a proactive $15 million investment at a time of growing uncertainty and escalating attacks from the federal government.
To safeguard access to gender-affirming care, Mayor Mamdani’s administration will:
- Establish a direct care access fund for providers of youth gender-affirming care to help ensure that New Yorkers can continue to access medically necessary care.
- Launch a call and text line connecting New Yorkers with care, services, information, resources and support related to gender-affirming care.
- Fund research to identify gaps in health care access and outcomes for transgender and gender non-conforming New Yorkers. As the federal government retreats from supporting this critical research, New York City will invest in better understanding and meeting the needs of LGBTQ+ community.
Earlier this month, the City’s Law Department submitted an amicus brief supporting a legal challenge brought on behalf of transgender youth and young adults opposing federal grand jury subpoenas seeking the medical records of patients who have received gender-affirming care. On Wednesday, a federal judge granted the injunction, blocking the U.S. Department of Justice from using subpoenas to access sensitive medical records of transgender patients.
Mayor Mamdani has directed the Law Department to be ready to respond, including potentially litigate, threats to end gender-affirming care for youth and adults from the federal government.
“Every New Yorker should have the freedom to live as themselves and access the health care they need,” said Mayor Mamdani. “As the federal government attacks transgender people and attempts to intimidate patients, families and providers, New York City is stepping up. We will protect care, support the providers delivering it and make clear that trans New Yorkers belong in this city. Health care is a human right, and we will do everything in our power to defend it.”
“In New York City, we know that high-quality, accessible healthcare is a fundamental right that should be afforded to every person,” said Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Dr. Helen Arteaga. “As the federal government strips healthcare coverage from millions and denies access to critical services, the Mamdani administration is making comprehensive care available to transgender New Yorkers and anyone who needs help.”
“The federal government’s dehumanization of transgender people in its rhetoric and actions is not just cruel, it’s dangerous,” said Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su. “That’s why our administration is making new investments to protect access to medically necessary care to ensure transgender and gender non-conforming New Yorkers can live full and open lives.”
“I know first-hand that gender affirming care for the treatment of gender dysphoria is lifesaving,” said Taylor Brown, Inaugural Director of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs. “The Federal government’s ideological war against gender affirming care is the result of the basest political instincts, not science or concern for transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary (TGNCNB) young people. The Federal government’s irresponsible threats and attacks are existential; and contrary to fundamental principles of law, medicine, individual autonomy, and the basic humanity of TGNCNB people. Our administration’s priorities and efforts, including this latest investment initiative, serve as reminders that in New York City, we stand up for New Yorkers, gender affirming care is lifesaving healthcare, and that TGNCNB New Yorkers, like all New Yorkers, are entitled to equal, equitable, and medically necessary health carefree from discrimination.”
The Mamdani administration offers a broad array of services for LGBTQ+ New Yorkers, including mental health services, community support resources and gender-affirming care. NYC Health + Hospitals provides gender-affirming care.
Under Mayor Mamdani, the New York City Health Department will, for the first time, offer gender-affirming hormone therapy through a pilot program for adults at its public health clinic in Corona, Queens, later this year. As with other clinic services, care will be available at no or low cost and regardless of immigration status.
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