Becca Balint Introduces Trans Health Care Bill

US Rep. Becca Ballint introduced legislation that would protect and expand access to gender-affirming care for transgender individuals while the Trump administration was trying to limit practices.

The Vermont Democratic bill – the Transgender Healthcare Access Act – will support medical education programs and professional training in transition-related care, establishing grants to expand access to such services in rural communities.

She introduced the bill on March 31st, coinciding with Transgender Vision Day.

In a survey of 10 medical school students, lawmakers said four in five students did not find it competent to treat transgender patients suffering from gender discomfort.

As a result, future healthcare providers need to be educated about issues they may encounter at some point in their professional career.

The bill allocates $10 million a year to fund the grant. This attempts to address the lack of education and familiarity on transgender health issues. Subsequent research will be distributed by the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health in cooperation with accredited medical education 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 that serve the Indigenous American population, and certain state agencies.

Under the bill, the Health Secretary should issue a report detailing the programs and activities the grants are funded, and how these programs provided recommendations to improve health equity for transgender people and improve access to gender-affirming care.

The bill explicitly excludes funding from being used in conversion therapy.

According to investigation By the Center for Progress in America and the University of Chicago research group Norc, approximately 12% of transgender people were exposed to conversion therapy efforts at some point in their lives.

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The proposed law has nearly 30 democratic co-sponsors. It is supported by many LGBTQ and civil rights advocacy groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, the Center for Progress in America, the Human Rights Campaign, the Trevor Project, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

Given that Republicans who oppose transgender identity are part of the brand, managing both Congressional rooms is unlikely to have Barint’s bill gained any traction, and it’s not a much smaller vote.

But she said it was important to introduce a law that comes after President Donald Trump issued an agency order to receive federal funds to spend that money on anyone under the age of 19.

“Republicans are obsessed with attacking trans people,” Barint, one of 14 LGBTQ lawmakers, said in a news release. “It’s dangerous. Again and again, they use messages designed to make Americans fear each other and separate us. But I want you to know that queer and trans-americans who know you have fighters and allies in Congress.

“I am not pausing as Republicans continue to use their power to steal health care, attack and dehumanize trans people,” continued the co-chair of Congress’ Equality Caucus. “That’s why we’re introducing this bill to expand access and train more providers. It’s important that trans-Americans have access to appropriate and quality care wherever they live.”

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The Barint bill serves as a counter to anti-transgender laws that have been promoted by Republicans in recent years.

Earlier this month, U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) is eligible to participate in the Children’s Hospital’s Medical Education Payment Program, introducing measures to block hospitals that provide gender-affirming treatments, such as hormones and adolescent blockers.

Over the past few years, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has introduced legislation requiring the criminalization of doctors who provide gender-affirming treatments or services to transgender youth, reflecting the law passed in 27 states.

The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard of the challenge to the Tennessee ban, but it is expected that it will make a decision later this spring on whether a state-level ban on gender-preserving care is unconstitutional, discriminatory or violates custody.

Rodrigo Hen Letinen, executive director of trans equality advocates, praised the Valint bill needed for transgender individuals seeking care for gender discomfort.

“This bill is a positive declaration of the importance of this care as a legitimate and important public health priority and is worth investing,” said Heng-Lehtinen. “This care is a crucial and medically necessary aspect of healthcare delivery that needs to be prioritized to properly serve patients.”