Idaho lawmakers are scheduled to vote on a bill that would ban the use of public funds for gender-affirming care, including for state employees with occupational health insurance and adults covered by Medicaid.
BOISE, Idaho — The Idaho Legislature is scheduled to vote this week on a bill that would prohibit the use of public funds for gender-affirming care, including for state employees with occupational health insurance and adults covered by Medicaid. is.
The bill has already passed the House and only needs to pass the Republican-majority Senate before being sent to Gov. Brad Little’s desk, where it will likely be signed into law. The Republican governor has repeatedly said in the past that he doesn’t think public funds should be spent on gender-affirming care.
The Senate adjourned Monday before voting on the bill.
If enacted, Idaho would become at least the 10th state to ban Medicaid funding for gender-affirming care for any age group, according to the Movement Advancement Project, an advocacy and information group. becomes. The legislation is part of an ongoing national fight for the rights of LGBTQ+ Americans.
Opponents of the Idaho bill say it will almost certainly lead to litigation in federal court. The state has already been sued multiple times over attempts to deny gender-affirming care to transgender residents, but so far has not had much success defending the lawsuits.
In one case, the state was ordered to perform sex reassignment surgery on a transgender inmate, after which the inmate was awarded about $2.5 million in legal fees.
Last year, a federal judge blocked the state of Idaho from enforcing a new ban on gender-affirming health care for minors until a lawsuit brought by a transgender youth and his family was resolved. Another federal judge rejected a state’s motion to dismiss a separate lawsuit filed in 2022 by adults alleging that Medicaid officials wrongly denied coverage for medically necessary gender reassignment treatment.
“This bill violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and federal Medicaid law,” Boise attorney Howard Belodoff told lawmakers during Thursday’s hearing.
Mr. Belodov represents transgender adults who sued the state for discriminatory Medicaid policies that excluded them from genital reconstructive surgery.
“We cannot differentiate between providing care based on diagnosis, type of disease, or condition,” Belodov says. “That’s exactly what this bill is about. It violates Medicaid law.”
One of the bill’s sponsors, Republican Rep. Bruce Skaug, said the lawsuits were the impetus for the bill.
“In my opinion, this is a taxpayer protection bill,” Skaug said, suggesting that without it, states could end up paying millions of dollars for gender-affirming care. About 70% of Idaho’s Medicaid program is funded by the federal government.
Some witnesses who opposed the bill said it went further than intended by eliminating gender-affirming care even for privately insured residents living in rural areas with only state-funded medical centers. It was suggested that this could extend over a large range.
Isaac Craften, an Idaho Department of Corrections official, said many correctional officers work 12- to 16-hour shifts and may need to take prescription medications, such as hormone therapy, while on the job. It pointed out.
However, the law prohibits the use of state-owned land, facilities, and buildings to perform surgical procedures or medical interventions, and it prohibits employees from administering legally prescribed medications themselves while in the break room. If taken, Craften said, they could be subject to criminal penalties.
Penalties for violating the law include fines of $300 to $10,000 and imprisonment for one to 14 years.
At least 23 states, including Idaho, have passed laws banning gender-affirming care for minors. Experts say some states will make it more difficult for transgender adults to receive treatment, such as eliminating telemedicine options or requiring repeated psychological testing to continue gender-affirming treatment. We are also considering the policies pointed out by the House.
Major medical groups, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, oppose banning gender-affirming treatments and support such treatments, saying they are safe when done properly.
Courts have blocked enforcement of bans on gender-affirming care for minors in Idaho, Montana, and Arkansas, but allowed enforcement in Alabama and Georgia.
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Associated Press writers Jeff Mulvihill in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City and John Hannah in Topeka, Kansas, contributed to this report.
