Trans News Friday: Medicaid Cuts, Seattle’s Welcome
The federal government came for trans kids' Medicaid coverage this week, Seattle put city money behind the people moving there for safety, and the Justice Department walked away from its fight for trans patients' medical records. If your family is on the Oregon Health Plan, that first story is about you. Here's the week.
The Feds Just Cut Medicaid Money for Trans Youth Care. States Can Still Pay.
Doernbecher Children's Hospital at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland. Photo: Tedder via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0
On August 11, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services finalized a rule that stops federal Medicaid money from paying for puberty blockers, hormones, and surgery for trans patients under 18, and federal CHIP money for anyone under 19. It takes effect October 13. Federal funding keeps flowing for up to six months after that for young people already on hormone therapy, and mental health care stays covered. President Trump said he directed CMS administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz to make the change.
Here's the part that matters most: the rule cuts federal dollars, not the care itself. States and private insurers can still cover it with their own money. At least 27 states already ban this care for minors, so the weight falls on low-income families in states that still protect it. GLAD Law says the rule will face a legal challenge, and the Trevor Project's Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen put it plainly to Erin in the Morning: "Nothing will change overnight."
This is a federal agency deciding which kids get care based on who's paying the bill. Oregon gets to decide differently, and it should.
Seattle Votes $300,000 to Help Trans People Moving There for Safety
Seattle City Hall. Photo: Seattle City Council via Wikimedia Commons, CC0
On August 11, the Seattle City Council voted unanimously to put $300,000 toward local LGBTQIA+ organizations helping trans and gender diverse people who are relocating to the city from hostile states. Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck sponsored the budget amendment. The money comes from the city's JumpStart Fund, a tax on Seattle's biggest employers, and goes out as grants through the city's Human Services Department, The Advocate reported. Back in May, Seattle's LGBTQ Commission asked the mayor to declare a civil emergency over the influx. That hasn't happened, but this did.
More than 100 people weighed in during two and a half hours of public comment, including Gender Justice League's Danni Askini and Elle Cree, a trans woman who came to Seattle from Arkansas. Council President Joy Hollingsworth called the one-time money a start. Councilmember Dionne Foster kept it short: "Trans people belong here. Period. That's it."
$300,000 won't cover the need, and the council president said as much. But a city putting public money behind trans newcomers is a choice, and Seattle made it out loud. Portland is on a lot of people's lists too.
Read the full story at Seattle Gay News →
DOJ Gives Up Its Fight for Trans Kids’ Medical Records at UPMC
The Joseph F. Weis Jr. U.S. Courthouse in downtown Pittsburgh, with a tower bearing UPMC's name behind it. Photo: Cbaile19 via Wikimedia Commons, CC0
On Monday, August 10, the Justice Department asked the Third Circuit to dismiss its appeal in its push for the medical records of young people who got gender-affirming care at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. The families didn't oppose the request, and DOJ didn't say why it was walking away. Chief U.S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon blocked the subpoena in December 2025, reaffirmed that ruling in March, and turned down DOJ's offer to take anonymized records instead. Judges in Philadelphia, Colorado, and Washington state have reached similar conclusions.
The appeals court still has to sign off, but the families' lawyers at the Public Interest Law Center say Bissoon's ruling is now final. Legal director Mimi McKenzie: "That's a win for patients. But it came with a great cost." She also warned that DOJ has been reaching agreements with health systems around the country to end gender-affirming care and prop up so-called detransition clinics, and she urged UPMC not to go that route.
Your medical records are yours. When the federal government goes fishing for them, courts keep telling it no.
Read the full story at 90.5 WESA →
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More This Week
In Kansas, trans men calling themselves the Compliance Crew spent August 8 using women's restrooms across the state, exactly as the new SB 244 bathroom law requires. At a city water park in Dodge City, someone called the police, and the men had to describe their bodies to avoid arrest. According to the group, neither the manager nor the officers had heard of the law. One of them, Ray Vieux, told Erin in the Morning that "many of us don't want to leave, no matter how bad it gets." In Washington, D.C., Senior U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth ruled August 12 that the Trump administration didn't violate his earlier order when it moved incarcerated trans women into a separate federal prison unit with fewer privileges (Bloomberg Law).
If the U.K. is on your list, know that the ground there is shifting fast. A new Equality and Human Rights Commission code that took effect August 5 says trans people should use gender-neutral facilities or ones matching their sex assigned at birth. When one NHS trust in the Midlands told staff there would be "no immediate changes" to its trans-inclusive policy, J.K. Rowling offered to fund patients and staff who want to sue (PinkNews). And some joy: after financiers balked at backing her new thriller The Hunted because of its all-trans cast, Lilly Wachowski staged a live table read in Los Angeles on August 7 and 8 instead, promising to "grab that trans joy with all of my friends" (PinkNews).
What This Means for Portland
If your kid gets gender-affirming care through the Oregon Health Plan, nothing changes today. The federal rule doesn't kick in until October 13, young people already on hormone therapy keep federal coverage for up to six months after that, and counseling stays covered. Oregon law protects this care, and the state can choose to pay for it with its own money. That choice hasn't been made yet. Ask your coordinated care organization (CCO) what its plan is, and call OHP Client Services at 1-800-273-0557 if you can't get a straight answer. If you hit a wall, the OHA Ombuds Program is at 1-877-642-0450. Keep your appointments, and talk with your prescriber before changing anything.
Then make two asks. Tell Gov. Tina Kotek and your state legislators you want Oregon to cover this care with state dollars if the federal money stops. And email your three Portland City Council members: Seattle just funded the groups helping trans people land safely. What's Portland's plan?
What This Means for Our Work
This week showed both sides of the map. Federal rules are pushing families to figure out where their kids' care still gets paid for, and cities are deciding whether to welcome the people who move. TRFAN, our emergency relocation program, helps people get here safely, Safe Haven Home Share helps them find housing with people who've got their back, and our Peer Support Services team helps families work through OHP and find care, alongside partners like Dian’s Well, Folktime, and The Peer Company. Trans Town PDX keeps the community part of community going. Seattle put public money behind this kind of work. Here, your support is what keeps it moving.
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