Mount Sinai Hospital drops gender-affirming care for trans teens, leaving New York families worried

New York City families say that trans teens have been cut off from gender-affirming care in the Mount Sinai hospital system, local news outlet Gothamist reported on Saturday.

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Parents said they were notified over the phone that their teens could no longer access gender-affirming care at at one of the country’s leading medical centers for transgender care, and that the hospital’s trans health program for youth would not accept new patients. Reached by The Advocate, a spokesperson for Mount Sinai declined to comment on this story.

The report comes as hospitals nationwide reckon with the future of trans health care as President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers seek to restrict access to gender-affirming care for minors, including hormones and puberty blockers. This care for trans minors is legal in New York.

Trump threatened in December to pull federal funds from hospitals that provide youth gender-affirming care. That included funding through Medicare and Medicaid, STAT News reported. Just days prior, NYU Langone, another major New York City health provider, ended a similar program for teens.

Meanwhile, local and state officials have pushed back against restrictions on trans health care. Last year, New York Attorney General Letitia James said hospitals could violate state non-discrimination laws by denying gender-affirming care to youth.

Mark Hennessey, director of the Center for Healthcare Provider Services and Oversight with the New York State Department of Health, sent a letter to state hospitals last Wednesday clarifying that state law prohibits discrimination based on “sexual orientation or gender identity or expression, including transgender status, in health care services and coverage.”

"New York has strong protections in place to shield all patients from harm and ensure that they receive care and treatment without discrimination," the letter stated.

This article was written as part of the Future of Queer Media fellowship program at The Advocate, which is underwritten by a generous gift from Morrison Media Group. The program helps support the next generation of LGBTQ+ journalists.