"A new policy implemented by the Trump administration, which further abandons transgender veterans who rely on the Department of Veterans Affairs for medical care they earned through years of military service, raises questions about the Republican Party's targeted cruelty toward groups the GOP disfavors. The Advocate has learned that the VA quietly changed its internal policy to ban its doctors from completing forms and letters of support for gender-affirming surgeries for transgender veterans seeking care at their own expense outside of the government health care system."
"Doctors at the VA tell The Advocate that the policy is cruel, unethical, and saves no money. Advocacy groups and insiders warn that blocking transgender veterans from accessing medically necessary care is about punishment and bigoted anti-trans ideology. The change, finalized in July, amends Veterans Health Administration Directive 1134(3), which governs how VA clinicians provide medical statements and fill out VA and non-VA forms."
The Trump administration implemented a VA policy change that prohibits VA clinicians from completing non-VA documentation for gender-affirming surgery. The amendment to Veterans Health Administration Directive 1134(3), finalized in July, explicitly forbids providers from completing forms and letters of support for transgender veterans seeking surgery at their own expense outside the VA system. VA providers describe the policy as cruel, unethical, and fiscally ineffective. Advocacy groups characterize the ban as punitive and rooted in anti-trans bias. Since 2016 providers were required to help veterans with documentation for benefits and private insurance; the amendment carves out only one category and group, creating internal contradictions and clinician fear of retaliation.
Read at Advocate.com
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