UNC Health, the Triangle's largest health provider, will not provide gender-affirming care to patients under 19 years old.
This exceeds state law that prohibits gender-affirming care, such as hormone replacement therapy, for patients under the age of 18. In an emailed statement, UNC Health spokesperson Alan Wolf wrote that "given the unsettled state of federal guidelines," the health system raised the age limit for receiving medical services around gender transition sometime last year.
President Donald Trump last year issued an executive order to cut support for gender-affirming care for those under 19, which has since met legal challenges. NC Health News reported last summer that Atrium Health, the state's largest health provider, also stopped providing gender-affirming care to 18-year-olds.
In December, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced a pair of proposed rules that would effectively further restrict access to gender-affirming care for young transgender people. One rule would stop providers from receiving federal Medicaid reimbursements for gender-affirming treatments given to patients under 18 years of age. The other would cut all Medicare and Medicaid funding for any services at hospitals that provide gender-affirming care for children.
North Carolina is one of 27 states that have enacted laws that limit or prohibit youth access to gender-affirming care.
We would like to hear from families about their experiences and questions navigating access to gender-affirming care in North Carolina. Please reach out to Eli Chen at elichen@wunc.org.
