Establishes a gender-affirming care access program to provide support and increase access to gender-affirming care including certain medical and surgical care.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7924--A
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 14, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sens. GONZALEZ, FERNANDEZ, GOUNARDES -- read twice and
ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on
Health -- recommitted to the Committee on Health in accordance with
Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to the gender-affirm-
ing care access program
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Title 2-F of article 2 of the public health law is amended
2 by adding a new section 244-a to read as follows:
3 § 244-a. Gender-affirming care access program. 1. As used in this
4 section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
5 (a) "Gender expansive" shall mean a transgender, non-binary, gender
6 non-conforming, intersex individuals, or other individuals who have a
7 gender identity or expression that is different from the sex assigned to
8 them at birth.
9 (b) "Gender-affirming care" shall mean and include any type of care
10 provided to an individual to affirm their gender identity or gender
11 expression including, but not limited to, care an individual provides to
12 themself; provided that surgical interventions on minors with variations
13 in their sex characteristics that are not sought and initiated by the
14 individual patient are not gender-affirming care.
15 (c) "Program" shall mean the gender-affirming care access program
16 established pursuant to subdivision two of this section.
17 2. The commissioner shall establish a gender-affirming care access
18 program. The program shall provide funding to gender-affirming care
19 providers and non-profit organizations that provide or facilitate access
20 to gender-affirming care. The program shall be designed to provide
21 support to gender-affirming care providers and non-profit organizations
22 to increase access to care, fund uncompensated care, and to address the
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11750-05-6
S. 7924--A 2
1 support needs of individuals accessing gender-affirming care. The
2 commissioner shall consult a range of experts including, but not limited
3 to gender expansive individuals, individuals and entities providing
4 gender-affirming care, gender-affirming funds and other organizations
5 work to advance access to gender-affirming care, to ensure the gender-
6 affirming care program structure and expenditures reflect the needs of
7 gender-affirming care providers and patients. Funding used to support
8 this program shall be subject to appropriation.
9 3. The commissioner shall distribute grant funds made available for
10 expenditure under this section. In determining funding for applicants
11 under the grant program, the commissioner shall consider the following
12 criteria and goals:
13 (a) Increasing access to care by growing the capacity of gender-af-
14 firming care providers to meet present and future care needs. Grant
15 funds may be awarded to support the recruitment and retention of staff,
16 staff training, the establishment of new or renovation of existing
17 health centers, investments in technology to facilitate care, security
18 enhancements, cover the costs of medical malpractice liability and
19 general liability insurance for health care providers involved in the
20 provision of gender-affirming health care services, and other opera-
21 tional or capital needs that increase access to gender-affirming care.
22 (b) Funding uncompensated health care services associated with
23 gender-affirming care, to ensure the affordability of and access to care
24 for individuals who lack ability to pay for care, for individuals who
25 lack insurance coverage, are underinsured, or whose insurance is deemed
26 unusable by the rendering provider.
27 (c) Addressing practical support needs of individuals accessing
28 gender-affirming care for individuals who lack ability to pay for such
29 support.
30 4. The commissioner shall not request, or otherwise require, any
31 gender-affirming care provider or organization receiving moneys from the
32 program to divulge the name, address, photograph, license number, email
33 address, phone number, or any other individual identifying information
34 of any patient, or individual who sought or received health care
35 services or practical support from a gender-affirming care provider or
36 organization under the program.
37 5. Any organization or gender-affirming care provider receiving funds
38 from the program shall take all necessary steps to ensure the confiden-
39 tiality of the individuals receiving services pursuant to state and
40 federal laws.
41 § 2. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section
42 or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of competent juris-
43 diction to be invalid and after exhaustion of all further judicial
44 review, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remain-
45 der thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause,
46 sentence, paragraph, section or part thereof directly involved in the
47 controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered.
48 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
