"Baystate Health is reportedly ending its hormone prescriptions for transgender youth under 18 to protect its Medicaid and Medicare funding. In a letter to parents and guardians earlier this month, shared with The Boston Globe, the Springfield health care system said it would continue to offer mental health counseling for these adolescents but would stop prescribing gender-affirming hormone medications and puberty-blocking drugs."
"According to the letter, it will transfer the patients' medications to Transhealth or another provider of the patient's choice. 'This decision offers patients the specialized expertise and continuity of care they need and deserve and reflects the evolving regulatory landscape that threatens hundreds of millions of dollars in hospital Medicaid and Medicare funding,' Baystate said in a separate statement to the Globe. Baystate Health told the Globe that nearly 70% of its patients rely on Medicaid or Medicare."
Baystate Health will stop prescribing gender-affirming hormone medications and puberty-blocking drugs to transgender youth under 18. The system said it will continue to offer mental health counseling for these adolescents and will transfer patients' medications to Transhealth or another provider of the patient's choice. Baystate cited an evolving regulatory landscape that it said threatens hundreds of millions of dollars in hospital Medicaid and Medicare funding, noting nearly 70% of its patients rely on those programs. The decision follows other New England pullbacks, including Fenway Health's pause for patients under 19 and New Hampshire's ban on such medication for minors.
Read at Boston.com
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