The Trump administration is playing politics with the Medicaid and Medicare programs, attempting to force health care providers to abandon transgender youth and their families to retain access to federal dollars. It’s the same strategy that was used to take the right to abortion away from millions of Americans—but right now, this policy proposal is just that: a proposal. There is still time to raise your voice and tell the federal government to keep their hands off our health care—but comments must be submitted by February 17, 2026.
We urge Vermonters to fight this attempt to strip our right to determine our own futures and access the health care that we need.
Access Our Toolkit
We have compiled a toolkit to help Vermonters like you to make a difference in the fight to secure these vital health care services, with suggestions to help you get started and details about how to write a compelling comment.
These policy changes are not good governance—they’re extortion
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has proposed two major rules that would devastate access to health care for transgender youth.
The first proposal would prohibit the use of federal Medicaid dollars to provide coverage of gender-affirming health care for people under 18. The second would go even further, banning hospitals from participating in Medicaid and Medicare entirely if they offer this care—even if that care is paid for privately.
Ultimately, these proposed rule changes would force hospitals to stop offering gender- affirming care to young people altogether—effectively shutting down most of this care for youth across the country.
Raise your voice to defend our freedom
From now until February 17, you can submit a comment to the Department of Health and Human Services to voice your opposition to these proposed rule changes.
If enacted, these proposed rule changes would set a dangerous precedent that could have far reaching implications for all kinds of essential health care services. Politicians shouldn't get to choose what medical care is right for us—that’s a decision for us, our families, and our doctors to make.
While we invite you to write and submit your comment any time from now until mid-February, we also know that you may have questions about how to craft your message, want to learn about privacy considerations before hitting submit on your comment, or need help setting aside time to write it.
That is why we are hosting two virtual events where our staff will share information and resources about the proposed rule changes and explain how to maximize the impact of your comment. We’ll also carve out time for you to draft your comment and ask any follow-up questions that you may have.
Both sessions will cover the same information, so we encourage you to pick whichever works best for your schedule—and invite a friend to join!