Trans teens across New York City scramble after NYU Langone shutters care

"Rachel, a Brooklyn mother whose 16-year-old son has been receiving hormone therapy at NYU Langone Health for the past two years, said she was told this week her son can get a 30-day refill of testosterone "and that's it." She asked Gothamist not to share her last name to protect her family's privacy. "They're just completely abandoning trans youth and it's disgusting and it's dangerous," Rachel said. "These kids need care.""

"NYU Langone is closing its program as the Trump administration threatens to pull federal funding from hospitals that provide treatments such as hormones or puberty blockers to minors. The Trump administration in December proposed new rules that would prohibit Medicare or Medicaid funding from flowing to hospitals that provide such gender-affirming treatments to patients under 18. Hospitals rely heavily on these massive public insurance programs for revenue."

"Those rules were subject to a 60-day public comment period and are still in the process of being finalized. But some local elected officials said Wednesday they are concerned that other hospital systems will follow suit. "Given the recent departure of our medical director, coupled with the current regulatory environment, we made the difficult decision to discontinue our Transgender Youth Health Program," Steve Ritea, a spokesperson for NYU Langone Health, said Wednesday. He added, "We are committed to helping patients in our care manage this change.""

NYU Langone Health is closing its Transgender Youth Health Program. Families of transgender teens are seeking alternative care, with some patients receiving only limited medication refills. The hospital cited the recent departure of its medical director and a challenging regulatory environment as reasons for the decision. The Trump administration proposed rules to block Medicare and Medicaid funding to hospitals that provide hormones or puberty blockers to minors, and those rules remain under a public comment period. Local elected officials expressed concern that other hospitals may follow NYU Langone's lead. NYU spokespersons said the hospital will help patients manage the transition.

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