Youth access to care is changing rapidly in many states. Today, we have some updates on how youth in Utah and Florida can access gender affirming care.
Youth In UTAH:
There is a moratorium on hormonal treatment for youth active in UTAH.
If your youth received a diagnosis of gender dysphoria prior to January 28, 2023 and is not able to get care with the diagnosing provider, we can see them. However, we cannot prescribe treatment until six months of care are completed. If your youth needs a new provider, we recommend starting care as soon as possible, as this six-month waiting period may remain in place even if the moratorium on new treatment is lifted.
If your youth does not yet have a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, we can see them, and we can diagnose, but we cannot treat. We may be able to treat after July 1st *and after a six-month waiting period* but this is not yet fully clear.
We are hopeful that the law will be blocked by the courts so that you can access care with fewer barriers.
Alternative Options:
If you are able to travel to Idaho, and pick up prescriptions in Idaho, we see youth and adults in Idaho. However, Idaho’s ban on youth gender affirming care goes into effect on January 1,2024. We recommend travelling to Washington or California if possible, as they have legal protections in place for both patients and providers. All of our care is done via telehealth, and where the patient is at the time of the appointment determines the state licensing required. We anticipate that we will not be able to write prescriptions for pickup in Utah for youth. We will require one parent or legal guardian to attend travel appointments along with the minor patient (unless the youth is emancipated.)
If you need support for travelling to another state to get care, we suggest Elevated Access. Elevated
Access is a volunteer group of pilots who fly people to medical appointments at no cost.
Youth In Florida:
The Florida Boards of Medicine and Osteopathic Medicine met today and voted to remove the research exemption for care from the Osteopathic rules. We send out great love to all of the folx who showed up and testified and witnessed in Talahlassee today. Equality Florida has released an update.
The rules are not yet finalized, so gender affirming care is still available for youth in Florida. Youth who have started medical treatment before the rules go into effect will be able to continue care, but youth will not be able to start hormones/blockers/anti-androgens after the rules are live.
We believe that the earliest this ban can go into effect is March 16, 2023. This means that youth in Florida can still start gender affirming care for at least a few more weeks.
We’ll post again when we know more about next steps for Florida youth. We are still accepting youth patients in Florida.
Background on the fight for youth care in these states:
Our approach to Adolescent Care.
Dr. Beal’s letter to Florida Boards and to legislators in states threatening transgender and gender diverse youth.
We are committed to providing appropriate gender affirming care based on informed consent. The majority of reputable professional organizations and associations agree that gender affirming care is the appropriate treatment for minors with gender dysphoria.
We provide gender affirming care for adults and youth in Alaska, California, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. We will continue to provide treatment as long as we are legally able to do so.
QueerDoc is committed to providing gender affirming care, fighting against medical discrimination, and advocating against discriminatory laws – especially in the states where we practice.
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