'You will cost lives': Kentucky bill bans Medicaid funding for gender-affirming care
A bill that would overturn Gov. Andy Beshear's executive order restricting conversion therapy has been amended to prohibit transgender Kentuckians from receiving gender-affirming care through Medicaid.
House Bill 495, sponsored by Republican Rep. David Hale, would invalidate Beshear's 2024 order banning the use of state and federal funds on conversion therapy for minors. It passed out of the House last week on a 77-18 vote.
A committee substitute passed Wednesday in the Senate Committee on Health Services added a provision that bars the state Department of Medicaid Services and any entity expending Medicaid funds from covering medical services that align a person's physical traits with their gender identity.
According to the bill's language, that includes:
"Cross-sex hormones in amounts greater than would normally be produced endogenously in a healthy person of the same age and sex."
"Gender reassignment surgery to alter or remove physical or anatomical characteristics or features that are typical for and characteristics of a person's biological sex."
More: Where key bills stand as the 2025 legislative session nears end
The last-minute addition drew strong criticism from opponents of the bill, including Fairness Campaign Executive Director Chris Hartman, who had a heated exchange with Republican Sen. Stephen Meredith, who chairs the Senate committee.
Hartman began his testimony with a raised voice, saying "How dare you all?," before Meredith interrupted him.
"This has been a great conversation so far," Meredith said. "I'm not going to allow you to berate the people in this committee."
Meredith continued to tell Hartman if he continued to raise his voice, he would be asked to leave.
"I've seen you come into this committee before and yell at people, berate people, trying to dissuade their opinion in a way that is totally unacceptable," Meredith said. "I will not accept this from you."
Hartman continued his testimony, saying the committee substitute is a "disrespectful subversion of the legislative process and "a sneak attack on the transgender community."
"What you are doing now is denying life-saving medical health care to an untold number of Kentuckians without debate this late in the game because folks don't want to have this debate," Hartman said. "You will cost lives. This was not the original intent of this bill at all. I'm disappointed, Mr. Chairman."
"It wouldn't be the first time, thank you" Meredith responded.
"It actually is," Hartman replied before leaving the table.
Nick Spencer, the director of policy for the Family Foundation, was the lone testimony in support of the bill. Spencer said the government "has no business policing" what answers are presented by counselors during conversations between them and a patient.
"We've heard this morning that conversion therapy tells somebody that there's something wrong with them and that they need to be fixed," Spencer said. "At its core, the purpose of counseling is to help somebody fix what is broken. And speaking as a pastor, I would say that everybody in this room, myself included, is broken and in need of fixing."
The bill passed the committee on a 6-3 vote, with Democratic Sens. Keturah Herron and Karen Berg and Republican Sen. Danny Carroll voting against the measure.
Carroll raised concerns over how conversion therapy could potentially harm children while explaining his "no" vote.
"This type of therapy seems to go in with that sole purpose, to change someone, which if ... that child is not prepared for that, I could see that being very detrimental," Carroll said.
Republican Sen. Robby Mills said Kentucky Medicaid does not cover transgender care services currently but voted in favor of advancing the legislation.
The bill now heads to the Senate for a full floor vote.
Reach reporter Hannah Pinski at hpinski@courier-journal.com or follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @hannahpinski.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky bill bans Medicaid funding for gender-affirming care
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